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<h1><a href="https://archiveofourown.org/works/25072579">Sanders Sides POC Drabbles</a> by <a class='authorlink' href='https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hamiltalian/pseuds/Hamiltalian'>Hamiltalian</a></h1>

<table class="full">

<tr><td><b>Category:</b></td><td>Sanders Sides (Web Series)</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Genre:</b></td><td>Alternate Universe, Alternate Universe - High School, Alternate Universe - Human, Black Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Black Deceit | Janus Sanders, Black Logic | Logan Sanders, Black Morality | Patton Sanders, Gen, Hispanic Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Hispanic Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders, Hispanic Logic | Logan Sanders, M/M, Multi, Nonbinary Anxiety | Virgil Sanders, Nonbinary Deceit | Janus Sanders, Trans Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Trans Logic | Logan Sanders, Trans Male Character, Trans Male Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders, Trans Male Logic | Logan Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Language:</b></td><td>English</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Status:</b></td><td>In-Progress</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Published:</b></td><td>2020-07-13</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Updated:</b></td><td>2021-03-15</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Packaged:</b></td><td>2021-05-04 02:47:34</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Rating:</b></td><td>Teen And Up Audiences</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Warnings:</b></td><td>No Archive Warnings Apply</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Chapters:</b></td><td>11</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Words:</b></td><td>26,862</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Publisher:</b></td><td>archiveofourown.org</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Story URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/works/25072579</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Author URL:</b></td><td>https://archiveofourown.org/users/Hamiltalian/pseuds/Hamiltalian</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Summary:</b></td><td><div class="userstuff">
              <p>After all of the drama around Black Roman that happened on Tumblr, I had a bunch of head canons about the sides as being Black and/or Mexican, like me, without any kind of plot, so this is my solution. It’s a series of one shots that all take place in the same universe at different points in time.</p>
            </div></td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Relationships:</b></td><td>Creativity | Roman "Princey" Sanders/Deceit | Janus Sanders, Dark Creativity | Remus "The Duke" Sanders/Logic | Logan Sanders</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Comments:</b></td><td>9</td></tr>

<tr><td><b>Kudos:</b></td><td>53</td></tr>

</table>

<a name="section0001"><h2>1. Quick Guide</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <strong>Quick Guide to the Character Races: </strong>
</p><p>Patton: He’s a Black boy who was popular until Virgil showed him he was just kind of there as the token Black and gay friend. He stayed friendly, but Virgil is pretty sure cutting them off lead to Patton letting himself be a bit more feminine. </p><p>Virgil: They’re mixed, but white passing with a Black mom and a white dad. If they’re in the sun, they will tan incredibly quickly, but if they don’t keep tanning, it’ll peel off like a sunburn, so they prefer not to take that chance. If they have to go into the sun, it will be in a hoodie. (Note: This is how my sibling tans, which is weird because only they do this in my family and it's especially weird because they say it doesn't hurt)</p><p>Roman: He's Remus's fraternal twin brother, though he likes to say that they're identical twins until Remus does something stupid. The two of them only moved into town after he began transitioning and it's his way of deeply hiding the fact that he is trans. They’re full blooded Mexican, but pass as white almost as much as Virgil does. Unlike Virgil, however, the twins do not tan very well and burn pretty fast, something that Roman hates with his entire heart.</p><p>Remus: Remus wanted to dye his hair to differentiate between himself and Roman, but he only got to bleach a test streak before his parents found out and stopped him. They compromised and let him grow a mustache, but it wasn’t like they could unbleach his hair. It’s a look he took with him into adulthood, for some reason.</p><p>Logan: He’s mixed with a Black mom and a Hispanic dad. Besides being one of three, sometimes four, visibly non-white people at his school, his most noteable feature is his very long hair, which he usually keeps in box braids and keeps long out of spite. He's trans and he doesn't care who knows it, most people are too scared of him to care. </p><p>Janus: They’re a Black enby with dark skin and vitiligo, which they usually hide with makeup and clothing. It’s not a shame thing, they’re just so sick of getting stared at all the time just because it looks like there’s a skull on their face. </p><p> </p><p>
  <strong>Notes: </strong>
</p><p>Everybody's parents will probably be shown at some point, but Logan's house is kind of their go-to hangout place.</p><p>I am just finding out that AO3 lets me rearrange the chapter orders after posting them. <strong>I'm still numbering them by the order they're written, but that's just for me. The order you see in the index is chronological order. </strong></p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0002"><h2>2. Chapter 1: The Meeting</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Monday morning, first period English class. Ordinarily, Logan was looking forward to this class, but on that day, he was dreading it. It was the day they were getting assignments for their group project. It wouldn’t have been as bad if they were allowed to choose their groups or even if their groups were smaller, but their class was so big that they were being put into randomized groups of six.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>The only person who was dreading it more was Virgil, sulking in their seat near the back as they waited for the teacher to show up and give her sentence. There was nothing more they hated than group projects. Nobody ever did their parts, there was so much socialization, and they knew they’d probably be separated from Patton, the only friend they really had and only because they couldn’t seem to shake him off when they’d first met years ago. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You okay, Virge?” Patton asked as he noticed the sour expression on his friend’s face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course they’re not,” Janus said from the seat in front of them. “They’re going to have to actually talk to people now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You don’t have to pick on them,” Patton said. “They don’t like to talk to people, that’s just their preference.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus turned in their seat to look back at him. “Oh, I wasn’t being sarcastic. I feel the exact same way. That’s just how my voice is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.. Sorry for assuming.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged and turned back around. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Across the room, Roman nudged his brother. “You think we’ll finally be separated?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We haven’t been separated since we started telling everyone we’re identical twins,” Remus said, focusing on the Sharpie tattoo he was giving himself. “And don’t touch me, you’re going to move my arm...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, you can’t completely blame me. Second, how did you get those in here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “I’m not blaming you, I just hate that everyone thinks we have to be joined at the hip. And I’m not telling you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman tutted and put his arm on his desk. “At least give me one.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you trust me to draw anything besides a penis on your arm?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman pulled his arm back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Didn’t think so.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once their teacher stepped into the room, the whole class went quiet besides the sound of Remus shoving markers back into his bag. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good morning. Looks like everyone remembered the big day,” she said, as if she hadn’t sent an email to her class the night before, reminding them that they were getting into their groups that day. “I’ll just take attendance and then I’ll let you guys all separate out and get used to your groups.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She went back to her desk and did just that, glad to see that the entire class was present. “Alright, please don’t freak out when you see where I’ve assigned you and, before you ask, group assignments are final unless it is a dire situation. And, Logan, the ‘absolute need to work on your own’ is not a dire situation.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan groaned and sunk down in his seat. It was one thing to hear it when he inevitably asked after class, it was another to be called out in front of everyone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their teacher just laughed and displayed the assigned groups on the projector, letting them all separate and get together. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan pushed up his glasses and looked up at the page, quickly finding his name as well as the rest of those in the group. He knew Patton pretty well, their moms were friends and his mom was the nice lady that braided his hair every couple of months. The only reason the two weren’t closer was probably because Patton could only handle wrangling in one loner friend. Then there was Janus. Logan didn’t know much about them, but he wasn’t sure he liked them. Janus was a good enough student, but they frustrated all of their teachers with the way they never actually paid attention in class, they just handed in perfect work. Logan wasn’t sure how that would translate to their collaboration in a group project. And then there were the twins... God, Logan had hoped that he wouldn’t be stuck with even one of the twins, but here he was, unlucky enough to have both in his group. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Neither of the twins were exactly relieved to have him in the group either. To them, he was just another teacher’s pet who would insist on doing everyone’s share of the work in order to make sure everything stayed his way. They may not have been the same person, but they did both have their own input that they’d try to add. When it came to everyone else, their opinions started to differ. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To Roman, Patton was a valuable partner to have, someone good and positive, even if he did come with the little emo nightmare, Virgil. And he didn’t like Janus. He was pretty sure they cheated in at least some of their classes, there was no way they could pay that little attention in class and still have those grades. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>To Remus, Janus was their most valuable asset. There had to be some cool way that they got their grades and Remus was more than eager to get some help to raise his own grades. He also didn’t mind Virgil, he knew they wouldn’t be saying anything too stupid. But Patton... Yeah, he knew that they were going to bump heads at least a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Patton would agree. He always saw Remus doing things he wasn’t supposed to, he wasn’t sure if they would work well together at all. At least with Roman, Patton was sure he’d do his best. He was a bit worried Logan would try to take over, but he did seem like a nice guy when he saw him. Unlike Janus.. They always had that sarcastic tone in their voice, Patton was never sure what they meant when they spoke. But he was delighted to work with Virgil! </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton was the only person Virgil was okay with working with. Roman was loud and egotistical, Remus was creepy, Logan... Virgil didn’t know anything about him. They weren’t sure anybody knew anything about him, which was weird in itself. At least everyone knew they were an emo nightmare. But they were looking forward to working with Janus the least, that sneaky weirdo. They just gave Virgil the creeps and that was Virgil, the supposed walking stormcloud. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus knew that they weren’t popular amongst their group, but it was whatever, the feeling was mutual. Patton was sweet, but he wasn’t exactly great at hiding his feeling about them. Roman assumed they were a cheater, which was absolutely unfair. Remus wanted to get to know them for his own benefit. Logan had probably the truest neutral feelings, which was good because that’s what they would be giving him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was one other peculiar thing about his group that Logan noticed, but he wasn’t sure it was appropriate to say out loud. When they all met in the back corner and it was the first thing out of Remus’s mouth, he knew it wasn’t. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, she just put all of the ethnic people together, didn’t she?” he asked, just loud enough for the rest of the group to hear. The last thing he wanted to do was get kicked out of class again for making a simple observation. “And then she added Virgil because they won’t talk to anyone else but Patton?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, this is why you don’t have any friends,” Roman said, smacking his brother’s arm. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not white, I’m passing,” Virgil corrected. “I get these jokes from other people all the time, I don’t need it from you two. Especially when you’re as pale as I am.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus tutted. “Alright, I made a mistake. Sorry.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil just nodded and leaned back in their chair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That actually opens up the conversation to something I wanted to say,” Logan began. “I don’t know if you guys have any ideas for the project, but I really don’t want to do something dealing with race. I’ve been doing those kinds of projects and I’ve been the center of those kinds of projects for years and, seeing who I’m working with, I’m sure at least some of you will feel the same.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank god, we’re already agreeing on something,” Janus said. “And nothing religious, either.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I agree,” Patton said, though he seemed to be surprised by his own words. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded. “And it’s what everyone is going to be expecting us to do, so what’s the fun in that?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, what should we do?” Virgil asked. “I mean, we have free reign for any social issues.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We can talk about how god awful cringe culture is,” Remus offered. “It has terrible effects on neurodivergent people and it makes even neurotypical people feel like they aren’t allowed to like what they like, which leads to the ‘miserable adults’ stereotype.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan stared at him, surprised. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Don’t believe me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s not that, it’s just that that was kind of one of the top things on my list..” He opened his journal to a tabbed page and showed them his list of potential topics. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right up there with the importance of accepting a transgender child,” Roman pointed out. “Half of these are neurodivergent issues and the other half are gender and sexuality related, so I see why you were so adamant on not working on race or religion.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged. “I would’ve written down a more diverse list, but I assumed I’d be with a group of utter idiots who didn’t understand why I didn’t want to write more about how my race affects me. At least with this list, they’d be satisfied knowing that they’re letting me talk about my experiences,” he said, though the idea of doing a project for that reason alone was very clearly unappealing to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we do go with that, it definitely won’t be because we want you to talk about yourself the whole time,” Janus assured. “We’ll have Remus for that, if they’re so desperate to hear personal anecdotes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will literally bring my dice collection and throw them into people’s eyes if they insist on that kind of thing,” Remus said. “I will buy a metal D4 for that exact purpose.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Do you mean, like... Dungeons and Dragons dice?..” Logan asked hesitantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus’s eyes lit up. “Why am I surprised to hear that the biggest nerd in our class plays D&amp;D?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged, pushing back a smile. “I mean, I’m more into the storybuilding elements of it, but it’s not like I’ve ever had a party to play with. Maybe we can set up a campaign at my house?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned and batted his eyelashes at him, leaning towards him. “After one day of knowing me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan furrowed his eyebrows. “Technically, I’ve known you for a few years, we’ve just never spoken. I’m only offering because my parents said they’ll start making me go to church again if I don’t make any friends soon.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton glanced at him, confused. “Are you sure it wasn’t sarcasm?.. That does not sound like something your mom would say.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan paused and thought for a few seconds, a look of realization slowly spreading over his face. “Oh, that makes more sense...” he said under his breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you two know each other already?” Roman asked. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen you two talking.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton shrugged. “Our moms have mutual friends, so his mom brings him over to get his hair braided every couple of months.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “Patton started learning last time, but he was focusing too hard to talk to me. I think he did a nice job. I’m not usually one for beads, but I honestly can’t complain,” he hummed, pulling down a couple of braids from where they were tied up on top of his head to run his fingers over them. “And it is satisfying to let them all down and hear the sound.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton smiled. “Thank you, I’m very proud of my work,” he said, absentmindedly starting to reach out, then stopping himself. “Sorry, would you mind?.. I’m just proud of them..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan groaned and shook his head. “I’m sorry... I’d let you, but last time, a bunch of other people kept asking me to let them touch my hair, too..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I get that..” Patton said, pulling his hand back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan gave him an apologetic smile before turning back to Remus. “So, I guess you don’t need to come over.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Fuck that, you already invited me,” Remus shrugged. “I’d love to play D&amp;D with you. You have any cool dice?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What kind of fan of the game wouldn’t, assuming they’re able to?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus cheered to himself. “I’ll literally drag Roman over there tonight, if you let me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Me?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Learn to drive if you don’t want to come,” Remus said, waving him off. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um..” Logan shrugged, hesitant to invite him over. “Maybe if everyone comes?.. We can talk about the project together while we’re there, if everyone’s free.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The other five looked at each other and shrugged, all muttering agreements. It was a Monday night, there wasn’t much for them to do besides homework. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And, before I get asked, no, you guys cannot cheat off of my homework.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If we were to ask, it’d be a nicer smart kid,” Janus remarked. “We all know how protective you are of your grades, don’t worry.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh.. It seems like we have nothing else to discuss, then. We can continue this later.” Logan pulled out a book and attempted to begin reading, interrupted by a hand smacking his page. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, we’re going to need a number or an address if we’re going to meet up at your place,” Remus said, pulling Logan’s book away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes and pulled out a pen, grabbing Remus’s hand and writing down his phone number before snatching his book back. “I walk home. You’re welcome to follow me, as needed.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can drive some people,” Patton offered. “Virgil, Janus?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Not me,” Janus said. “I’ve got my bike.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, cool,” Patton smiled before turning to Logan, giving him a questioning look. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan just stared back at him. “Why are you looking at me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh... I thought maybe you might like a ride instead of walking?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Um..” He thought for a second before nodding. “Sure... But there’s something I have to do at about 3:22, give or take a couple of minutes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded. “I mean, if you manage to get there walking everyday, I’m sure I can get you there on time by driving.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect.” Logan paused and sighed before grabbing his phone and passing it around, letting everyone put their phone numbers in. “I’ll go ahead and make a group chat for us... I don’t usually like to make any sort of group chat, but I feel like you five won’t be spamming the chat unnecessarily.” Of course, he could just silence it if that happened, but then he’d have to make sure that he didn’t miss anything important, so there was no real winning either way. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it, class stuff only. We’ll make our own group chat where we can actually be humans,” Remus joked, earning a jab in the ribs from his brother. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Ah, the undying joke about me being a robot,” Logan remarked. “Very original.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus just rolled his eyes. Well, at least now there was somebody who wouldn’t run crying from his jokes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the end of the class period, they were all well acquainted with each other. Or, rather, acquainted enough to have some sort of idea who they were working with. And, for now, that was good enough. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0003"><h2>3. Chapter 2: First Study Session</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Another day of school just ended, but Logan was still feeling the pressure of the school day. After all, this wasn’t just a normal day where he could just walk home and spend time on his own. On this day, he was looking for Patton, his apparent ride home, so they could work on a group project at his house. He’d never had anybody over for a project, or for anything, really, but he was thankful that they were going somewhere familiar. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a minute, Patton found him, stepping into his line of sight. “Hey, Logan. I hope you weren’t waiting for very long.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded at him in greeting. “No, it’s only been a couple of minutes. Is Virgil nearby?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They’re actually probably waiting by my car, I just wanted to make sure to find you first.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh. Well, I wouldn’t want to keep anybody waiting.” Logan shrugged and followed Patton to his car, where Virgil was, in fact, waiting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hi, Virge, I hope you weren’t waiting for long. I forgot that I didn't tell Logan he could meet us at the car..” Of course, Logan could already recognize Patton’s little blue car, he just didn’t know where to meet and the edge of the parking lot was a pretty safe bet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine,” Virgil shrugged. “I just got here anyways. So, the twins and Janus know where to go?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I sent them my address, yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil nodded. “Let’s just hope this goes smoothly enough.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All three of them got into the car and Patton made sure to get them to Logan’s house at 3:20, much to the other’s pleasant surprise. Patton hadn't been driving particularly fast, but Logan did notice that he rushed a bit to get out of the parking lot before the after school traffic got too bad. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you actually remember that I wanted to be here quickly?” Logan asked as he got out of the car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did! I mean, it was a pretty simple request, I just had to make sure we beat the rush out of the parking lot and it was smooth sailing from there.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you. Um... There’s a paletero who comes around-” Logan interrupted himself. “Sorry, like a Hispanic ice cream man, if you want me to get you two something?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe.. A snow cone does sound good,” Patton hummed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “His name is Jorge, I always get a snow cone from his cart. He usually has snow cones and elote, the Mexican street corn that some of the kids at school think they’re obsessed with. It’s why I wanted to get here on time, I always get a cherry snow cone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded. “You don’t have to explain it to me. It was important to you that we got back here on time, so we did.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right. Logan may not have been that close to Patton, but he knew enough about him to know that he was undyingly friendly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>By the time Jorge showed up, Logan was ready as always to get his snow cone, buying a second one for Patton and a cup of elote for Virgil. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Are these some new friends?” Jorge asked in Spanish as he made Virgil’s elote. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh... We’re just working on a project together. I’m not sure we’re really friends yet,” he shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, well, is this for the white kid? Does he want the full thing? Chile powder and all?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can handle spice,” Virgil responded in English. They may not have known Spanish, but it didn’t take a linguist to know what “Blanquito” meant or who it was directed at. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um..” Logan looked back at Virgil. “I’m sorry, but there aren’t really gender neutral pronouns in Spanish...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil just shrugged. “I also go by he/him, I just like they/them better.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded and turned back to Jorge. “He’ll be fine, he only looks white.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan paid for their snacks once he was done and waved as Jorge left before showing his classmates inside. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve always wondered what your shed was like,” Patton hummed as they walked into the house. “That is, if you were going to show us, you don’t have to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um...” Logan shrugged. “I don’t know... I would, if Remus wasn’t coming along. I don’t trust him to not do anything he shouldn’t...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that’s fair...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What shed?” Virgil asked, just a touch too curious not to. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want the short story, it’s exactly what it sounds like. My dad and I built a shed in the backyard so I can stay out there and look at the stars. It kind of became my room over time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That does sound interesting. And I also wouldn’t trust Remus out there.” They shrugged and took a bite out of their snack, their eyes going wide almost immediately. “Holy shit, this is good.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “That’s because it’s authentic. And has more than just salt and parmesan.” He showed them to the living room and invited them both to take a seat before hearing the doorbell ring. “That must be Janus or the twins. Excuse me.” He went to the front door and found Janus waiting there with a motorcycle helmet in their arms. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, sorry it took me a bit. I got caught in the front of the rush and I think I saw the twins pretty close behind me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right on cue, Remus’s truck showed up around the corner, parking in Logan’s driveway a few seconds later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus sighed and stepped inside. “Let’s just get this over with...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great, I knew that nerd tracker would work,” Remus said as he hopped out of the car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman rolled his eyes. “Remus, that joke was stupid five minutes ago and it’s stupid now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ve heard worse, it’s kind of like listening to a child,” Logan assured him as he let the two into his house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The six of them attempted to settle peacefully in the living room, but were quickly interrupted by the sound of more people coming into the house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan listened for a few seconds before sighing. “Sorry, my dad and his coworkers come here to hang out sometimes. They’re cool, they’re just kind of loud. Excuse me.” He turned towards the hallway and shouted out. “Dad!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s dad popped up around the corner a few seconds later, smiling sheepishly as he saw that there were guests. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why are you all here?” he asked in Spanish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wow, no ‘hi, dad,’ no ‘how was your day,’ you’re just kicking me out?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes and pushed back a smile. “I thought you and mom both said I could have classmates over for a project.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And I thought that meant you would be out back in your shed. It’s where you are most of the day, anyways,” he shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced at the other five before looking back at his dad. “As my dad, you should not be encouraging me to take boys into my bedroom.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His dad gave him a jokingly doubtful look. “There’s five of them, Logan. And I’m your father, I trust you. If you want us to leave, we can, you don’t need to come up with excuses.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan hummed in thought before sighing and putting his notebook away. “No, we can move..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright. Make sure to keep an eye on the clock.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right...” Logan got up, slinging his backpack over his shoulder as he turned back to his classmates and switching back to English. “You all wait here a minute, I’ll be right back and then we can relocate,” he said before leaving the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s dad looked around at the five remaining teenagers and waved. “So, not complaining at all, is this going to be a regular thing? Because, if so, I should try learning names and pronouns now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus gave him a surprised look. “Pronouns too?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, pronouns too,” he shrugged. “Is that a problem?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No,” they quickly responded. “It’s just that the oldest person to actually ask for pronouns before you is... Whoever in this room is the oldest. Or Logan.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He gave them a sympathetic smile. “I just figured I shouldn’t assume, a lot of people assume for Logan and I know he hates it. Here, I can start us off. You guys can call me Mr Perez, I go by he/him. Logan’s mom is Mrs Perez or Ms Thompson, she goes by she/her, but I’m sure she’ll introduce herself when you get to meet her.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m Janus, not spelled how you’re thinking, and I use they/them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everybody else introduced themselves, Patton going last. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, you’re Patton. Logan said he really liked how the braids you did came out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He did?” Patton asked with a wide smile. “Wow, I thought he was just saying that to make me feel better... He was kind of the first person I could actually practice on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Technically, Logan did mention that Patton's lack of experience was kind of noticeable, but he couldn’t crush Patton’s spirit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Right on time, Logan came back into the room in an oversized sweater. “Alright, we can move whenever you guys are ready.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The five of them followed him through the house and into the backyard, where a decent sized shed stood. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought you told your dad we were going to your room or something,” Remus pointed out. “I understand Spanish, in case you forgot.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We are,” Logan began. “You also heard my dad say that I practically live out here. It started as just a place to hangout, but my parents needed some storage space and I was staying out here all the time anyways." </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s really nice in here,” Patton commented. It wasn’t particularly spacious, but for a single teenager, it was nice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, like, do you just stay outside until you’re starting to fall asleep?” Virgil asked. “You said you built it to look at the stars, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed, realizing that they weren’t going to get much work done with that many questions. “Sorry, Virgil, it’s not an annoyed thing, I was expecting questions. I just feel like I should get those out of the way before we actually try to start working. I can give a quick rundown, if that’s okay with everyone?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, everyone was at least a little curious. This wasn’t a typical set up for any teenager. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great... So, I’m sure you noticed the glass roof from outside? I have a trap door and collapsible ladder that I use to go out there and lay under the stars. Obviously, I don’t go out there during the day, so, no, I don’t get problems with the sun. Plus, the door is directly over my bed, so I can literally just drop down from there.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus, Roman, and Janus raised their hands. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, you cannot try.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>All three of them put their hands down. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And most of the furniture is just stuff that family members didn’t want that I cleaned up and dragged in here. I used to just sleep on the couch, actually.” Once Logan’s parents found out how he was “getting into bed” every night, they insisted on at least getting him something that he wouldn’t break bones dropping onto. It wasn’t a hard couch, but one wrong move may have lead to Logan spraining his ankle. Other than that, there was a characteristically full bookshelf under a window seat on two sides of the room, a few dressers, and an old coffee table. The room itself was decently large for a bedroom with navy blue painted brick walls, gray curtains over the windows, and plush gray carpet for when Logan didn't feel like getting into bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So.. What’s the bathroom situation in here?” Remus asked. “And before you hit me, I’m not just asking to be weird.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes and pointed towards a door in the corner of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Remus left the room and the remaining five took the opportunity to finally get settled. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil, Patton, and Janus sat on the couch, Roman sat in one of the windows, and Logan sat on the edge of his bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, can we finally get some work done?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus joined them a few minutes later and the six of them spent the next few hours arguing, debating, and discussing what kind of topic they wanted to do their project on. Eventually, they settled on Remus and Logan’s cringe culture idea, something that all of them seemed to relate to. People thought that Patton being even the slightest bit feminine was a sign of him trying to act like a stereotypical gay, Roman was almost always picked on at least a bit when anybody found out about his obsession with Disney - not counting the other five in the room, of course - and Virgil and Janus were always told that they only identified as nonbinary to try to be special. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Had it been any other situation, Virgil and Janus wouldn’t have talked about it, but the other four shared what they were thinking and it was already established that it was an okay place to complain about that kind of thing. Even Logan said he’d experienced the same thing when he first began transitioning, since people liked to try and tell him that he only wanted to be a guy so people would take him more seriously than they did as a girl. Obviously, that wasn’t true, Logan was just as feared when people thought he was a girl, but it was still annoying. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And even if you two were faking it, what right does anybody else have to say what you want to be called?” Logan asked, clearly speaking from experience. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right? It’s like, great, you’ve tried to ruin this person’s life and now they’re going to try and make sure that they avoid you at all costs. What exactly is the benefit there?” Roman added on. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? He gets it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded. “People can really suck. You two aren’t asking for anything crazy, you just want people to call you by different names and pronouns.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pronouns that, according to the dictionary, are grammatically correct.”  </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil and Janus shared a glance. This kind of defending was something that neither of them seemed to be used to. Patton was a great friend and ally, but he wasn’t particularly confrontational. Virgil assured him it was fine, but it was kind of nice to see someone so quick to jump to their defense, even if it was against people in their past. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few more minutes of discussion, Logan’s mom knocked on the door and stepped inside, smiling as she saw the other five with her son. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey there, new faces and Patton... We were about to order some pizza for dinner. I was just wondering who all is going to be staying for that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton shrugged. “I’m sorry, my parents want me home for dinner..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And Patton’s my ride, so I should go with him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman checked the date on his phone. “Mom said I’m not allowed to keep recording episodes of my favorite show anymore, Remus, we should go too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw, I didn’t get to talk about Dungeons and Dragons with him,” Remus whined, though he began packing his stuff. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe we can talk about it during English tomorrow?” Logan offered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone stopped what they were doing and looked at him, shocked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You? Not do what you’re supposed to in class?” Janus asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan just shrugged. “I mean, isn’t English just going to be a bunch of us talking about this project for a while? I’m sure we’re one of the only groups who already have their topic, we can waste a day or two. It’s not like we’ll be falling behind any.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned widely. “It’s been less than a day and I’m already influencing you.” He went over to give Logan a hug, but Logan pushed him away with his foot. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was not an invitation to touch me, it was an invitation to talk about a tabletop role playing game during a class period when it wouldn’t really make a difference. And it’s not your influence, you guys all know that I’ve gotten in trouble for reading in class or doing homework for another class whenever I finish any of my work early.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, that was pretty true. Logan wasn’t so much of a perfect teacher’s pet as he was a great student who only listened as long as he was being engaged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus tutted and took a step back. “Alright. I’ll see you tomorrow, then. Come on, Roman.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The five of them filed out of the room, saying their goodbyes as they did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed and finally let himself relax as they left. It may have been a safe space for them to rant about how other people treated them, but Logan had a reputation to keep up. Sure, he didn’t act particularly different at home, but the little differences did matter to him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So? Did you guys have any fun in here? I heard a bunch of loud talking on my way out here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged. “We were just talking about the people who make our project relevant. We’re working on how god awful cringe culture is, since we can all relate to that pretty well.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded. “Do you think you’re going to be friends with them?” She wasn’t particularly pushy about the issue, but Logan was pretty aware that his mom was worried about the fact that Patton was the closest thing he had to a friend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I doubt it. Everyone at school is pretty intimidated by me, them included. It’ll take a while for them to get over that, much less want to befriend me. Besides, I’m completely fine without friends.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. You can’t play Dungeons and Dragons without friends and I know you get pretty bummed out by that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was true and it was a weakness that Logan was pretty embarrassed of. “I can live without Dungeons and Dragons.” He couldn’t live with people trying to convince him that treating him in a way that made him uncomfortable was okay, which was why he started acting in such an intimidating manner. It worked when he was ten and it was still working now. If it meant he didn’t have many friends, it was a sacrifice he was pretty willing to make. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0004"><h2>4. Chapter 3: The Quinceañera Dress</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Pretty quickly after the six began meeting, it was mutually agreed upon that Logan’s house was the best place to hang out and work. They met there at least a few times a week, though this was going to be the first Saturday that they’d go over. Logan felt a little weird about it, he wasn’t used to having friends over to begin with, so he was keeping himself busy by tidying up his shed when his mom came to get him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, that Remus kid is here early.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan groaned and put down the stack of journals he was moving. “Alright.. Can you let them know I’m back here?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I thought Remus was a he/him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He is. Isn’t Roman with him?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shook her head. “It’s just him. And should I be letting you back here alone with a boy?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan had too much exaggerated disgust to question why Remus wasn’t with his brother. “We’re just classmates, mom... Friends, at most.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she responded, uncertain. “I’ll send him back here. You stop worrying so much, this place looks neat enough already.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He nodded and tried to relax as she left. At least if it was just Remus, he didn’t have to worry about seeming weird. Remus was the king of weird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus knocked as he got to the open door of the shed, his backpack over his shoulder. “Hey, Logan. Your mom said she told you I was here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she did. You can come in, have a seat,” he said, gesturing towards the rest of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gladly,” Remus hummed before throwing himself onto Logan’s bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced at him for a few seconds before sighing and sitting on the couch, getting his laptop. “Not what I meant, but okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged and stretched out his arms, humming as he heard something fall onto the floor. He sat up and checked the ground, noticing that he’d knocked over a photo album. He was definitely one to be nosy, but this time, it was all too easy to see the pictures that the book had fallen open to, pictures of a very pretty girl in a very big and pretty dress. “Hey, Logan, who’s the chick in these pictures?” he asked as he picked it up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan looked over and hummed curiously. He knew he was forgetting to put something away. He got up and walked over, looking at the pictures. “Oh, that’s me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s... You?” he asked, looking between him and the pictures. Sure enough, it looked nearly identical to Logan. Same warm brown skin, same dark hair - though it was in tight curls rather than his usual box braids - and same honey brown eyes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is me, yes.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded a bit. “Sorry, I didn’t recognize you with a smile on your face.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan took the picture album from his hands. “That was me at my Quinceañera, the last time I wore a dress. I came out that night, in fact.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How did that go?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged. “Surprisingly well. I will say, my parents felt about making me go through that, but it’s not like they knew and it’s not like I was feeling deathly bad about wearing it. I was mentally preparing myself for that one for a while.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus hummed and thought for a second. “I honestly forgot you were in transition...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is the point of transitioning.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Knock, knock!” Patton announced as he stuck his head into the room, his smile wavering as he noticed Remus was already there. “Hey, Remus.. You’re early.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s nice to see you too, Patton,” he said with a shrug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton smiled and stepped in, Virgil right behind him. “Sorry I’m late, Virgil needed a last minute ride.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil just shrugged. “Sorry about that. What were you guys up to?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus found my Quinceañera pictures,” Logan said, holding up the album. “We were just talking about how surprisingly smoothly that went.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh yeah, I remember when you grabbed the mic and came out in front of the whole crowd,” Patton said with a small laugh. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We don’t talk about how it happened. The things that happened on that night do not leave your mouth, okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Got it, nobody else knows,” </span>
  <span>Patton nodded. “It was a really nice dress, though, if you don’t mind my saying?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, I completely agree. The dress was and still is gorgeous, I just will never wear it again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned. “You know what has to be done now, right? Somebody in this room has to try on that dress.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Pass,” Virgil responded without a thought, shaking their head. “I’m not getting in a dress.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton shrugged. “I would, but I think we all know I wouldn't fit in it.” Patton was the tallest of the group. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“And we all know I’m not trying it on,” Logan said, looking at Remus expectantly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus scoffed and smiled. “You think I won’t get into a dress? Do you think I’ll fit in it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan hummed in thought and stood up, pulling Remus up by his arm. “What do you guys think? I haven’t grown much since then, do you think he’ll fit?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil shrugged and sat down on the couch. “I’m not really interested in getting involved here..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, he’s a little tall, but I think he’s going to fit in it pretty well,” Patton remarked, giving a nod of approval and a wide smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great. I’ll be right back.” Logan nodded and left the room, Remus following him to the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced back and stopped him. “No, you stay here. There’s no way you’re wearing the dress outside of this room. It’s nothing personal, but if anything happens to it, it’s your head.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ordinarily, it was in Remus’s nature to grin and push boundaries, but he felt like it’d be best to just do as Logan said. He wasn’t sure why, but he was pretty sure it had something to do with being unsure about the severity of that death threat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Logan turned and walked back into his house, getting the dress from where it was being stored and bringing it back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Somehow, my parents didn’t spot me, but if they ask, this was Patton’s idea,” he said as he put the box down on the bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? Why mine?!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged. “You’re probably their favorite, besides me, and I’m not sure they’d believe that this was my idea. They won’t get mad at you, it’s fine.” He opened the box and felt Remus looming over him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m ready for my glow up,” he said, standing on his toes to get a better look into the box. “Make me pretty.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s a dress, not a magic wand,” Virgil commented. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus rolled his eyes and stepped back as Logan nudged him with his elbow, grabbing the hem of his own tank top. “So, should I strip down now, or..?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged and pulled the gown out of the box, hoping he wouldn’t regret this. “That would be best, yeah. Down to your boxers.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded and did just that, tossing his clothes a few feet away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan turned and faced away as he did, trying not to feel as embarrassed as he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hah! The little nerd is shy around a half naked guy,” Remus teased, pushing Logan lightly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“There’s a difference between seeing someone who’s undressed and watching someone strip down!” Logan quickly retaliated, though he did turn back around. “It’s not like this is something I see on a daily basis.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus opened his mouth to argue before remembering that Logan was telling the truth. “Okay, so I forgot about that part.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Just lean down so I can get this dress on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus was surprisingly compliant as Logan pulled the dress over his head and adjusted it to fit him better, holding it up for him as he began lacing up the back. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can pull it tighter, you’re not going to hurt me,” Remus challenged. “Besides, I don’t want this thing to fall off, it really is freaking pretty.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, if I pulled the corset as tight as I wanted, you’d be dead. Forgive me for having a sense of self restraint.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus cackled, though that quickly turned to a squeak as Logan did, in fact, tighten the laces on the corset. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I didn’t catch that, is this tight enough for you?” Logan asked, a grin evident in his tone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, alright, just let me breathe,” Remus squeaked out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan loosened the laces enough for Remus to fit comfortably in the dress. “You’re lucky I don’t want to tear it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus took a deep breath. “I’m pretty sure you almost suffocated me there.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You did ask me to tighten the laces. Next time, don’t be so obnoxious abut how you talk to me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a very weird thing for Remus to fall in love with, but Jesus Christ, the only person who’d ever reacted to his craziness with something equally crazy was standing right behind him, lacing up his dress. He was practically ready for it to be his wedding gown. “Whatever you say,” he hummed, trying to act casual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan finished lacing up the dress and took a step back, nodding in approval. “I mean, royal blue is definitely not your color, but you do look good.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus fluttered his eye lids at him. “You think so?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m almost certain that it’s because of the dress itself, but yes.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus tutted and looked at the other two for their opinions. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think you look great!” Patton said. “I guess green would be more fitting, but I think the blue looks good on you. What do you think, Virgil?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil did a double take as they looked up from their phone, shocked to see that Remus actually looked kind of pretty. “You look good, so I would say that the dress is a miracle worker.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s very kind of you, Patton and very backhanded of you, Virgil. Thank you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m not sure what you expected.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re finally here- What are you wearing?” Roman asked as he and Janus finally showed up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Logan’s quinceanera dress!” Remus explained as he twirled, the ballgown skirt flaring up. “I saw a picture of it and </span>
  <em>
    <span>somebody </span>
  </em>
  <span>had to wear it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman sighed and sat down beside Virgil. “How are we related?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What took you two so long?” Patton asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus rolled their eyes. “We have a presentation in history tomorrow and Roman helped me ‘edit’ mine in a way that will make sure I don’t get ‘suspended’,” they said with air quotes. “I forgot we go to a middle class white school and a presentation on how the Emancipation Proclamation was made with the intent of punishing the Confederacy rather than because Lincoln wanted to release slaves would not go over very well with anybody but him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan laughed at that. “Sometimes, I forget how naive they can be...”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Woah, he laughs,” Remus said, recognizing that as probably one of Logan’s first true laughs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged.. “I’m physically capable of laughing. It’s more of a matter of whether or not I want you guys to know. Don't ruin it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus put a hand over his heart and gave Logan a fake sigh. “I feel so special..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As you should. Now, we should actually get some work done while we’re here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>With Remus carefully moving around in the gown, the six of them got a few hours of work done on their project, only stopping when they all decided to stop and go out for pizza. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, Logan, help me out of this gown,” Remus said as the others began filing out of the room. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You say that as if I’d let you go anywhere with it,” Logan replied, getting up to help him get out of it. He unlaced the back of the dress and carefully let it fall to the ground before grabbing Remus’s arms to help him step out of it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Logan, I- Oh my goodness.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan felt his soul metaphorically waste away as he heard his mother’s voice. “This is not what it looks like!” he quickly explained, stepping away from Remus once he was out of the dress. “They all wanted to see my Quince dress on someone and Remus volunteered and I was just helping him out of it!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t even like him like that!” Remus added, scrambling towards his own pile of clothes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s mom averted her eyes and gestured for Logan to approach her until she felt his shoulder. “I believe you. But you also know how I feel about you being alone with a boy, especially a mostly naked one. Now... I’m going to give you money so you can go out with your friends and then we can talk about this when you get home.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay..” Logan muttered. “Can I at least wait for him to get dressed so I can get my wallet and keys?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, but I’m not leaving.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s fair..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry you had to see that..” Remus began as he finished getting dressed. “I should probably wait with everyone else..” He slid past the two of them and went inside, where he was met by a group of snickering teenagers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan was quick to grab his things, hoping he could avoid an awkward talk as his mom put away the dress for him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Logan, wait. I want to say something before you leave.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can this not happen?” he asked outright, absolutely not enjoying any of this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope. I just wanted to say that I know you can’t handle eye contact, but staring at a boy’s bare abs isn’t exactly subtle, nor is it where your line of sight usually ends up.” Everyone had quirks that Logan stared at instead of making eye contact. For Patton, it was his freckles. For Janus, it was multiple ear piercings that they always wore rings in. For Remus, it was the streak of white in his hair. Or his arms. To avoid eye contact. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wasn’t staring! I was just... Making sure he didn’t step on the dress too much...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She almost laughed at that. “There’s nothing to be embarrassed about, having a crush is normal, especially at your age. Of course, I know what you’re thinking and before you say it, it is also normal to not have any crushes. But please remember that I am your mother and I do know you too well for that.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, of course Logan knew that. “Please don’t make this awkward... We’re not dating, nothing’s going to happen.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay,” she hummed, unconvinced. “But don’t be surprised if I come in randomly while you two are out here alone playing Dungeons and Dragons.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom, I know I’m a nerd, but I’m not going to do anything like that over a D&amp;D session.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s just a warning. And we’re still having a talk after you get back. I know you probably know about sex, but your dad and I agree that, especially as an LGBT kid, we should make sure that you're well informed.” Logan managed to get away with not hearing that talk for a long time, since the idea of sex repulsed him before he came out. Now that it clearly didn't, there was nothing for him to hide behind. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to cry. You’re going to make me cry. Out of embarrassment.” He was exaggerating a bit, but at that point, there was nothing he wanted more than to get out of there. He could deal with that later, after dealing with his friends. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, fine! You can go.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed with relief and left the room, briefly running back to kiss his mom’s cheek before actually leaving. Of course, he kissed his dad’s cheek too before leaving with his friends, he loved both of his parents equally. Like usual, it was Patton driving Virgil, but Roman wanted to make his brother suffer and went with them, leaving Logan and Remus alone as they all went to get pizza. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So... I hope you didn’t get in too much trouble,” Remus began as he drove. “Or anything too awkward..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed. “Well, my parents have now been reminded that they need to give me the talk, but I should be able to survive it. I’ve done it once before.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“The talk?.. Aren’t you a little old- Nevermind.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged and sat with Remus in the awkward energy that filled the truck, not wanting to correct him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At that point, both of them were thinking the same thing: There was not going to be a peaceful D&amp;D session for a while. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0005"><h2>5. Chapter 7: The Dungeons and Dragons Incident</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Logan and Remus are playing a game of Dungeons and Dragons, as usual, and they have a bit of a misunderstanding</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It took about a month before Logan’s parents stopped visiting him and Remus during every DnD game, but they eventually did stop and Remus and Logan were able to focus more on their game than on making sure they stayed more than arm’s length apart. Of course, with Logan having to keep an eye on his notes and Remus having to keep an eye on his character information, it wasn’t like they became joined at the hip, they just weren’t sitting across the room from each other. And with the feelings both of them had for each other, it wasn’t hard for them to figure out a way to sit on the couch together without spilling any information. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Both of them sat with their backs against the arms of the seat, with their legs tangled together between them as they went through the adventure that Logan had planned for them, both of them equally excited and saddened to know that they were getting close to the end of their adventure, though Logan had been secretly been building another one for them to start after. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>For the moment, however, Remus was readying his character, a tiefling wizard named Inko, for the quickly approaching dangers ahead. At that moment, it meant talking with one of Logan’s favorite NPCs, an elf cleric named Nola. The two characters were as close as Remus and Logan themselves and Remus wasn’t shy about letting Inko pursue his beloved elf, though Logan thought it was hilarious to make them seem completely uninterested. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“‘You know, Nola’,” Remus began, making Logan rolled his eyes jokingly. “‘This is probably the last time that we’ll get to talk before we’re all either slaughtered by an impossibly huge monster or too busy being hailed as great heroes to meet up again.’” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nola crosses their arms, unamused as always. ‘Your point is? It’s the battle that we’ve been training up to all this time, we’ve been expecting it for months now.’” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “‘It’s felt more like weeks, but I guess I see your point. My point is this may be your last chance to admit that you like me, your last chance to know what it feels like to kiss a real hero.’” Remus was saying that in his character voice, but the slight forward lean he had in his posture and the way he raised his eyebrows were meant to convey that he was also saying those words to Logan himself. After all, as far as he knew, this last session or last two sessions were the last ones for a while, as Logan took some time to write up a new one. The last Saturday for a while where it would be just the two of them hanging out in his room, with their legs tangled together, with nothing else to think about but each other and a game of Dungeons and Dragons. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan couldn’t help but grin. He found it very entertaining to have Nola mess with Inko and dodge his every romantic attempt, but they both knew that the elf wasn't as heartless as they seemed. “Your point is?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus snickered and pulled his legs back, crossing them in front of him. “Inko takes on of Nola’s hands and pulls them closer with his usual seductive grin. ‘I know you have too much pride to kiss me yourself, but if you give me permission, I will kiss you and show you how much I truly care about you, in more ways than physically.’” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan chuckled and thought for a second. “Okay... Roll a persuasion check.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus tutted. As beautiful and seductive as he described his character to be, they both knew he sucked at persuasion. Logan wasn’t making this easy for him. “We both know I’m awful at those. And, come on, are you sure Nola really needs to be convinced at this point?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was a fair question. Logan did let Nola let their guard down a few times, they had a few sweet moments with Inko, but nothing that confirmed their relationship. Logan crossed his legs as he thought, seeing as it wasn’t as comfortable to sit like that without his and Remus’s legs supporting each other, before nodding. “Alright... I’ll give that to you. Nola closes their eyes and leans forward before sighing. ‘Just get it over with, idiot.’” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned and leaned forward, cupping Logan’s face in his hand and getting a few inches from kissing him before a hand on his chest pushed him away.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus paused and leaned back, looking at the bewildered look on Logan’s face. “What do you mean?.. I thought we both meant it in real life, too...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s eyes went wide for a second as he realized Remus had been dropping hints the entire time. “Oh my god, I didn’t catch that at all.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus sat back down, feeling his heart sink. “Holy shit... Holy fuck, I’m so sorry,” he said as he put his dice away and quickly gathered his stuff. “I should go.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Wait, Remus-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No, seriously, don’t apologize. I know you’re not good with metaphors and not-literal stuff, I’m so fucking stupid. I shouldn’t have leaned in so fast either, I can’t believe I did that.” He got up and began walking out, Logan still half frozen in shock on the couch. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hold on, just talk to me, I’m not upset,” he assured before finally managing to get up, starting to chase his friend out. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll see you at school,” Remus announced before shutting the door behind him, hopping the fence and getting to his truck as fast as he could. Even if Logan wasn’t mad at him for trying to kiss him, Remus wasn’t sure he could handle the shame and embarrassment of what he’d just done as well as a rejection. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he’d stayed for a few more seconds, however, he would’ve known that he was definitely not getting rejected. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed and grabbed his phone, waiting about half an hour for Remus to get home before calling him, his call going almost straight to voicemail. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Come on, pick up...” he muttered to himself as tried calling again, then again, and again before just giving up and leaving a message. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, I know you know it’s me, Logan. We need to talk and I know you’re probably scared that I’m going to be mad or whatever, but I promise you I’m not. In fact, if my brain hadn’t short circuited at the time, I probably would’ve kissed you back and you know I’m too awkward of a liar for that to not be the truth. Just... Come over and talk to me. Or, at least, call me back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But he didn’t. And Logan tried not to stress to hard about it, Remus was embarrassed, needing a few days to get over it was understandable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>What wasn’t understandable was the way he began avoiding his friend that Monday. Now that English class had mostly gone back to normal, it wasn’t hard for Remus to sit as far away from Logan as possible and it wasn’t like it was hard for him to do the same during lunch, knowing that Logan had too strict of an image to go running around searching for him. And, as for skipping their project time and study sessions? Well, what could’ve been easier than dropping Roman off, if he was even feeling nice enough to give him a ride, and driving himself home? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Sure, he was watching Logan from across the room, wondering if his uncharacteristically droopy posture was due to how mad he was about what Remus had done or something else. Sure, he missed having lunch with his friends and was not a fan of sitting quietly alone. Sure, there was usually a minute or so of hesitation where he almost convinced himself that it just might be a good idea to go and study with his friends and properly apologize to Logan before Remus convinced himself that he’d either waited to long or an apology wouldn’t have been nearly enough to make up for humiliating Logan in his own house, in his own safe space like that. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>If he’d bothered trying, however, he would’ve seen that Logan missed him just as much, if not more.  </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0006"><h2>6. Chapter 4: Intrulogical Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>Roman was always just sick of dealing with his brother, but it was usually because of his loud and obnoxious personality. Now, he was just tired of how hard he was working to avoid Logan and how obviously sad he was when he was brought up. More than that, Roman was tired of seeing him do nothing about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know he likes you, right? One bad experience doesn’t mean that he can’t change how he feels about you and he definitely likes you,” Roman assured as the two of them took the long way around to class in order to avoid running into said nerd. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I tried to kiss him, Roman. I know you don’t know what that’s like, but it’s freaking humiliating to try to kiss someone who was definitely not trying to kiss you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman knew that and he’d heard the story time and time again. Remus had embarrassed himself in the middle of a D&amp;D session, when he was trying to romance one of Logan’s NPCs and took their acceptance as Logan accepting a kiss from Remus. “But he misses you...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus scoffed at that. Logan was definitely not one to show emotions in front of a group, especially not one that made him vulnerable. That was why he’d assumed that they were having a subtle moment during the game, but he didn’t take into account how straightforward Logan just was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s true! I know he’s not really emotional, but he said that it’s unsettling that it’s so quiet without you there. That’s Logan talk for he misses having you around and you know it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I apparently don’t know how to read ‘Logan talk’ as well as I thought I did, what makes you think I’ll believe your interpretation of it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman groaned. “You’re being so dramatic, you’re basically like a second Virgil that I have to live with.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “At least Virgil is a good friend and wouldn’t accidentally try to kiss you during a Dungeons and Dragons session.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alright, there wasn’t going to be any convincing Remus anytime soon. Roman accepted that. That means it was time to start on Plan B. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That weekend, a few hours before Logan and Remus’s usual Dungeons and Dragons time, Roman put his plan in motion. It began during breakfast when he snuck into his brother’s room and stole an outfit - a simple black muscle shirt and skinny jeans with a pair of his boots. He took it and a fake mustache that he’d spent the last few days working on during his free time and called Patton, asking him to pick him up. Of course, he’d asked Patton to help him earlier in the week and his parents knew where he was going, so it was a smooth transition to get to his secondary location. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think it’s really sweet that you’re doing this for your brother,” Patton said as he began driving them to his house. “He’s just been so bummed out, I’m sure that he’ll love to get this all cleared up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course Roman told Patton what the entire plan was, he trusted him to keep a secret and he did need a ride. “Thanks... I’m just tired of seeing him mope around like that, it’s getting almost as annoying as when he’s all loud and obnoxious.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded a bit. Roman sounded selfish, but he was friends with Virgil, which was kind of like having them as a sibling. From what he was hearing, Roman really did want to help his brother, even if he said otherwise. “Are you sure you’re going to be able to trick Logan into thinking you’re him?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Without a doubt,” Roman shrugged. “We’re twins. We may not like being together, but nobody cares and everyone groups us together anyways. I’ve always been right beside him, I know him better than anyone else. Plus, look at this mustache.” He held up his masterpiece. He’d gotten a fake mustache that looked as close as he could find to Remus’s and took his time to fix a few details and make it look like the real thing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton looked over as they stopped at a red light. “Oh, wow, that looks real.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman smiled proudly. “Yeah, I worked pretty hard on it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton smiled and took them to his house, letting Roman change into his Remus costume. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, how do I look?” Roman asked as he strutted out of the bathroom, doing his best Remus impression. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton did a double take as he looked over before laughing, surprised at the likeness. “I mean, I don’t know why I’m surprised, you guys are identical twins, but you look exactly like him! I forgot it was actually you for a split second.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman smiled and took a moment to bask in the validation. “Logan won’t be able to tell the difference between us now!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Did you text him to let him know you’re going over?” Patton asked as they went back out to his car. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not,” Roman quickly said. “I mean, to do that, I would’ve needed Remus’s phone and there’s no way he wouldn’t have noticed that I took it, even for a few minutes. But Remus doesn't seem like the type to really ask to go over. I should know, he never knocks on doors at home.” Which had lead to more awkward moments than Roman would’ve liked to admit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I guess that makes sense..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I thought of everything,” Roman assured. “I couldn't even bring the dice because I know that Remus would kill me if I ever touched his dice sets, but I can brush that off as him being forgetful sometimes. If my voice sounds off, I’ll just say that I have a sore throat or something. I’m going to do great, don't worry.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay..” The fact that Patton didn’t ask and that Roman just felt the need to tell him the entirety of the plan made him not so sure about that, but he was just there to drive Roman for his plan. “I think you’re going to do great.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was a quick drive to Logan’s house and Roman took a deep breath as he got out of Patton’s car. Nobody knew his brother better than he did, he knew he had this impression down and that there was no way that Logan would see past it. All he had to do was go in, apologize for the moment with the kiss and the fact that Remus had been ignoring him and ask him out for his brother because it seemed like that wasn’t going to happen any time soon. Simple enough. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good luck,” Patton called from his car before driving off, leaving Roman alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman waved at him before stepping up to the front door, ringing the doorbell and putting on his best Remus impression as Logan’s mom opened the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, Remus, what are you doing here?.. Logan said you weren’t really talking to him..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Ah, that was one part of the plan that Roman didn’t account for. Logan told his parents everything. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh.. You know, I just felt so bad about ignoring him in school that I wanted to apologize in person,” he said. “I kind of thought he wouldn't want to talk to me, but Roman keeps saying that he does and I wanted to say I was sorry for ignoring him like that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She nodded a bit. “Well, he does want to see you... But if you leave here and his feelings are hurt any worse than they are right now, I will personally come up to your school and beat you down, do you understand?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That wasn’t a lot of pressure at all. “I get it, he’s your son. I wasn’t trying to hurt him and I’m not trying to make anything worse.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay..” She opened the door wider to let him in. “He’s out back, like usual.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” He smiled at her before heading out behind the house and to Logan’s shed, taking a deep breath before knocking on the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>After a few seconds, Logan opened the door, his typical neutral expression turning down as he saw who was at the door. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Logan, I-” Roman was cut off by a sharp slap across the face before Logan yanked him inside, closing the door behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You ignored me for an entire week and refused to answer my texts. I hope you didn’t expect a warmer response,” he said before crossing his arms over his chest. “What are you here for?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman rubbed his sore cheek and looked back at Logan, trying to keep up his act. “I know.. And that was stupid of me. I deserved that slap.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just felt so bad after I tried to kiss you, I couldn’t even look at you without thinking that you hated me.. But Roman talked some sense into me and convinced me to come talk to you..” He sighed and stood up straight. “I guess you probably want me out of here as soon as possible, so I’ll make this quick. I think you’re really cool and cute and I really want to go out with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan stared at him for a few seconds, giving him that glare that made everyone nervous. “I feel the same way and it is idiotic that it took this long for me to hear about it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman shrugged. “You’re an intimidating dude. You can’t blame me for taking this long. So... Am I forgiven?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan hummed in thought before taking a few steps towards him, stopping so their faces were less than a foot apart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman felt himself sweating profusely. This was not something he planned for and he was pretty sure that Remus was going to kill him when he heard that he wasn’t there for his own first kiss with Logan, but it would be cancelled out by the fact that the two were going to be going out, right?.. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan reached up and cupped his cheek with one hand, gently pulling his face down closer. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman leaned down into his grip and closed his eyes, hoping to just get this over with. Then this memory could die with him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan reached up with his other hand and ripped the fake mustache off of Roman’s face, making him yelp in pain. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What the fuck!?!” Roman shouted, holding his face. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I knew it,” Logan sighed, dropping the fake mustache. “What are you doing here, Roman?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman looked at him with pained tears in his eyes. “How did you know it was me?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, please. The streak of blonde in your hair is the wrong shade and it just screams 'fake.' I knew it from the moment I hit you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman pouted. Logan stared at Roman's jacket patches, he didn't think he'd even glance at the hair. “You could’ve said something sooner..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged and crossed his arms. “Then I wouldn’t have known why you came dressed up like him. So, what did you hope to accomplish by telling me that Remus has feelings for me and almost kissing me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman cringed at that. He didn’t know what it looked like from Logan’s point of view, but it definitely didn't look good for him. “I didn’t think you were going to try and kiss me.. Or, I guess, pretend to try and kiss me..”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I just needed a way to get you close enough for me to tear off that mustache. And I wanted to see how far you were willing to go to keep up the charade.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If I knew that you knew it was me, I would’ve pulled away.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Which is why I didn’t let you know that I knew. I won’t tell Remus, but it’s nice that you were willing to kiss me in order to help your brother feel better. That is, assuming you were telling the truth?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded. “He won’t tell you, but he really does like you. I’m just sick of watching him mope around like he’s been doing all week, you two need to talk.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m trying to talk. He’s avoiding me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well..” Roman sighed. “I can help you with that. He’s just moping in his room, I’m sure he won’t notice if I sneak you in.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay.. I mean, will your parents mind? I’ve only been there once before.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If they care, I’ll take the fall, simple as that. You need to fix my brother.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed and checked the time. “Well... I did set aside a few hours for D&amp;D, I can make time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank god... I’ll call Patton.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>But, again, Logan’s parents turned themselves into a factor that Roman was not preparing for. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, guys, I was wondering if you needed... snacks?... Roman?” Logan’s mom asked, understandably confused. “What are you doing here, I thought you were Remus a few minutes ago.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh... I was... But... I mean...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes. “He disguised himself as Remus,” he explained. “Remus is too scared to talk to me to show up himself, so we’re going to go over and talk to him. Roman says he feels bad about not talking to me, I’ll be back before dinner.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Okay, that was definitely unexpected, but she could tell from Logan’s expression alone that this was important to him. “Alright... But, Roman, what I said stands. If he comes back any more hurt than he was by your brother ignoring him, I will hunt you both down.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Note taken,” Roman assured, nodding before calling Patton for a ride. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What happened? Why are you calling me so soon?” Patton asked, a slightly panicked tone in his voice. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I got caught..” Roman explained. “But Logan said he’ll go talk to Remus, if you drive us?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, if you need a ride, I’m free,” Logan’s mom offered. “It’ll be nice to meet your parents, since it seems we might be seeing a lot of each other if this talk between the two of them goes well enough.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mom!” Logan whined. “It’s one thing to be embarrassing in private, it’s another to do so in front of my friend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>She shrugged. “I’ll be worse if Remus becomes your boyfriend, don’t test me.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman held back a laugh. “Never mind, Patton, Logan’s mom is giving us a ride. Thanks for all of your help, though.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! I’m wishing all of you good luck, it sounds like you’re going to need it,” he joked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Eh.. We’ll see. I’ll see you at school.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman glanced over at Logan once Patton hung up. “So... Ready?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Give me a few minutes and I will be,” he shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, we can wait in the house,” Logan’s mom said, showing Roman back inside. “So, what’s the real story between Logan and Remus? I won’t tell him that you told me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman laughed awkwardly. “I’m sorry... It’s not really my story to tell. I just didn’t want my brother moping around because he was a little weird with a friend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What did he do at first? He didn’t just stop talking to Logan after a couple of Dungeons and Dragons sessions, did he?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well... No. Um...” Roman wasn’t sure how to describe this without saying anything Logan didn’t want her knowing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I know Logan’s gay, I’m not going to get mad at him over liking a boy. I just want to know that my son’s going to be safe. No offense, but I could tell that Logan was kind of wary around Remus at first.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Everyone was, fairly enough. Remus was a ball of chaos and, around people he didn’t know, was not to be trusted. Around friends, they could at least estimate what he was going to do next. “He’s not going to hurt Logan, I can say that much for sure.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As a mother, she wanted to know more and keep digging for details. As a mother, she also knew that her relationship with Logan was stable enough for him to tell her the important details himself, when he wasn’t feeling too awkward to do so. “Alright... That’s all I need to know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan came out a few minutes later and they all went out to his mom’s car, both boys grateful as she drove them to Roman’s house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Of course, once they got there, Roman’s mom was fairly confused as she saw Roman come back with Logan and a woman who looked a lot like Logan. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, mom..” he greeted in Spanish. “Logan came over to talk to Remus and his mom drove us.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s mom smiled and held out a hand. “Hi, it’s so nice to meet you,” she said in Spanish. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a split second of mild surprise on Roman’s mom’s face before she hid it behind a smile and shook her hand. “Hi, I’m Roman’s mom, Mrs Garcia or Teresa. It’s so nice to meet you, your son is so lovely.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you! Both of your son are such lovely boys, but I heard Logan and Remus were having a little fight right now. He wanted to come over and talk to Remus himself.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, of course! Poor boy’s been upset all week, I’d love for him to get cheered up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman grabbed Logan’s arm and pulled him inside as their mothers talked. “I didn’t know your mom spoke Spanish.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, she started learning from my dad when their relationship got serious. Sometimes, she jokes around about being jealous that my Spanish is better than hers, despite her two year head start.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Makes sense. Well, Remus’s room is right there, if you wanted to-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Roman!” Remus shouted from his room. “I know you took my clothes, what are you-” Remus cut himself off as he yanked his bedroom door open and saw Logan standing there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh... Hey, Re-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus slammed his door shut, though his expression was pretty far from angry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dang it...” Roman muttered as he heard the door lock. “Hold on.” He went into his room and brought out a black and green key. “Here. Look, he wants to talk to you, he’s just scared and he doesn’t know how to deal with it. Please talk to him, don’t let him block you out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled up the sleeves of his jacket. “Don’t worry. I won’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded and went into his own room, pretty sure that he didn’t want to be a part of this. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan unlocked Remus’s door and stormed in, Remus looking at him in shock for a second before going back to looking guilty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look, Logan, I-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nope,” Logan said as he grabbed Remus by his shirt collar, pulling him down to his level. “You had your chance to talk, I gave you a week and you chose to waste it ignoring me. I’m talking now, okay?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus just nodded, pretty certain he deserved this, even if the reason he had was different from Logan’s. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Look... You leaned in to kiss me. You didn’t hurt me, you didn’t try to hurt me, you misunderstood something I said and stopped what you were doing when you realized it. So, you’re going to need to stop freaking out and actually talk to me because I can’t figure out how you honestly feel if you keep doing things that contradict so harshly. Literally.” Logan paused for a second and took a deep breath. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I... When you tried to kiss me, I was almost certain that you liked me. When you started avoiding me, I wasn’t sure. When Roman pulled his stunt just to tell me how you felt, it reassured me that maybe I wasn’t just being some hormonal teenager. Now, I’m not sure what’s real... and you’re going out of your way to avoid telling me. Even if you don’t like me that way, we are friends, right? You know I’m the farthest thing from a mind reader, I need you to just tell me if you like me or not so I can actually sleep at night.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Logan...” That was probably the closest to looking vulnerable Remus had ever seen him. Even with a fistful of Remus’s shirt in his hand and a hardened expression on his face, Logan couldn’t mask the way he was practically shaking or the way his eyes were darting around nervously as his glare bounced between Remus’s face and literally anywhere else. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’ve had a week to keep me confused. Answer the question.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Only Logan could back Remus into a corner like that and, while it was one of the traits that Remus fell for, it was probably the one he came the closest to disliking. “I do like you. A lot. Roman says it’s excessive sometimes, but, Jesus Christ, Logan,” he chuckled awkwardly. “I mean, you’re probably the only person who responds to my weirdness with more weirdness. You’re an unapologetically huge nerd and anyone who judges you for it is absolutely terrified of you. And don’t get me started on how weird you are, you’re so, so weird, the only person who comes even close to how weird I am. Do you realize how hot that is?! And, fuck, you’re beautiful, handsome, whichever you prefer, you’re that and about a hundred times more!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan’s cheeks subtly went red and he let go of Remus’s shirt, unsure how to react to someone making him feel that flattered. Flustered, even. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus noticed him pulling away and was not sure how to interpret that. “Please tell me you didn’t go through all that to tell me that you actually think I’m really gross.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No! I mean yeah, you are, but like, in the way you think I’m weird? I do like you, a lot, and I’m not sure how to deal with it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus began beaming and almost moved to pull Logan into a tight hug, stopping himself. “Oh my god, that’s great! So, what now? I mean, are we boyfriends or are we just dating or, like, should we talk about it first?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged. “I don’t know... Maybe talk? You’re an impulsive guy and I have boundary issues, we should make sure that won’t make anything between us impossible... And, clearly, communication needs to improve. Of course, I’ll work on that too, I won’t expect you to do all the work.” Logan stopped himself from continuing as he noticed Remus staring at him. “What?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re cute when you’re ranting. Keep going.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan stuttered for a few seconds before clearing his throat. “I’m not sure I can rant when you’re making me feel this... Flustered? Oh, god, is that what this is?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus cackled. “Alright. For you, I’ll let up, but don’t tell anyone.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right.. Of course I won’t.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I will say, you are adorable when you’re flustered.” Remus leaned down before stopping himself. “Can I kiss you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan paused for a second. “Um... I feel like saying no would ruin some kind of moment we’re having.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shook his head and stood up straight. “Don’t ever worry about ruining a moment. I don’t make my friends uncomfortable and you and I are more than friends. Got it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Understood... Um... I didn’t think this was going to go this well, so I’m not sure what to tell my mom, since she brought me here...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus thought for a second before grinning. “I need to get ready, so I can drive myself over in a bit, but I still want to know what you had planned next for D&amp;D.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman darted away from the door as he heard Logan approaching, hiding in the safety of his own room with a relieved sigh. That settled it. No more watching Remus sulk around. No more watching his brother suffer. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0007"><h2>7. Chapter 5: Intrulogical's First "I Love You"s</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>TW: Animal parts, dissections</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>What do you get when you put two people who are undeniably weird in a new, high school relationship? Well... You get whatever Remus and Logan have going on. Many people would’ve looked at Remus’s brash and borderline insane personality and never think that he’d be into someone as quiet and composed as Logan was, but Logan was far from average himself and Remus adored it. The same people probably would’ve looked at how serious and almost boring Logan was and question how Remus just let it be, but that’s why only a handful of people even knew he could be weird. Nobody really understood why they worked so well like each other besides the other and it was how they liked it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman, however, knew his brother pretty damn well and it was why he stopped questioning Remus’s Logan-related antics pretty soon after they began. Even if he did make sure his brother knew exactly what he was doing. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You do realize that if you get caught, mom probably will take you to get an exorcism? This is crazy, even for you,” Roman said as the two of them walked to their biology class. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus sighed and threw his arm over his brother’s shoulder. “Roman, you know me. You know that I can get crazier. And is this even </span>
  <em>
    <span>that</span>
  </em>
  <span> crazy, considering that a cute boy is involved?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman grabbed Remus’s arm and pulled it off. “Yes, it is that crazy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, let me put it this way: If you were me and Logan were, say... A certain enby in our group, you wouldn’t do something this crazy for them? Maybe not this exactly, but stealing and freeing the snakes from Petsmart?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman’s face went bright red and he began sputtering. “Wh- N- I- What- What are you even implying?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m implying that it doesn’t take a genius to see you staring longingly at them and staring fondly at their ass. Honesty, all you need is to stand outside of your window and wave a handkerchief as they drive by on their motorcycle, you’re just as bad as I am.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re crazy and you’re wrong.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m crazy and I’m good at keeping secrets. And you’re a terrible liar.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman rolled his eyes. “Just... Promise me I won’t have anything to do with this.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus laughed at that. “Please. When have I been known to need your help with these kinds of things?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them got to their biology class, where they got ready for a heart dissection. Unfortunately for him, Logan preferred physics and chemistry to biology most of the time and those were the advanced science classes that he’d chosen to take, though it did come at the cost of missing out on dissections. That’s where Remus came in.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman groaned as their teacher began passing around the sheep hearts that they were supposed to dissect for that class. “I’ll never understand what Logan sees in this kind of thing...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That’s because you’re boring, Roman,” Remus hummed as he slid their heart and a couple of disposable scalpels into a ziploc bag in his backpack and putting that bag into another before claiming that his table never got one. Their teacher was careless enough to believe it, so Remus ended up walking out of the room with an intact sheep heart, no problem. Of course, he managed to snatch a couple pairs of gloves before leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Your bag is going to smell like formaldehyde, do you realize that?” Roman asked once they were far enough away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can clean my backpack, I can’t get a heart out of nowhere to dissect with my lovely boyfriend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Well... At least it sounded like Remus was trying to be sweet in his own way. “And you’re sure Logan is going to like something like that?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “Probably. I mean, I’m already going over to hang out with him and watch a movie, it’s only a mild change in plans.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman paused, not sure how to ask in what kind of world dissections were remotely similar to watching a movie, but he figured it was better to leave some questions unanswered. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>At the end of the day, the two of them walked out to Remus’s truck, though Roman’s door was still locked by the time they got there. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, my door’s locked,” he said, while obnoxiously pulling at the handle. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Stop that, you’re going to break my truck. And I’m not going to be able to give you a ride home today.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman looked across the truck at his grinning brother, wondering where exactly this was going. “What are you talking about? You’re my only ride home.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “I mean, I’m not the only person who knows where you live. I mean, Patton probably left with Virgil already, but-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know where you’re going with this and I don’t like it.” Roman went across and tried to get in through Remus’s door, his brother laughing as he pushed him away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, come on, just ask them for a ride home! I’ll go with you, if it makes you feel better. I just know I probably shouldn’t let that heart get too warm in here, I should go straight to Logan’s place.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Bullshit!” Roman spat, embarrassed and mildly frustrated. “You just want me to go with Janus!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Roman, do you remember when you brought Logan to our house and gave him the key to my bedroom?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That was different! You were sulking for a week, all I’ve done is looked a few times...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “You’d better find them before they leave. It’s talk to Janus or be stuck walking home.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman huffed as he realized his brother was not giving in. “You owe me big time...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, sweet stupid Roman... If this goes how I think it will, you’ll be thanking me. Now get away before I run over your feet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman rolled his eyes and walked off, letting his brother leave. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus drove to Logan’s house and hopped the fence to his backyard, like usual, before going up to his door and knocking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Within a minute, Logan opened the door and let him in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I already set up the movie for us, then I can help you with some of your homework, if you still needed it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus gratefully kissed Logan's cheek and stepped inside, going to sit on the couch. “Thank you, but I think I have something we should work on before we get to the movies.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What is it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned and waved him over as he sat down. “So, you know how you’ve mentioned that you wish you could be in biology, but only for the cool dissections?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded, a wary yet hopeful look on his face. “I remember mentioning it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus reached into his bag and pulled out the heart. “Ta-da!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There was a split second of mild shock on Logan’s face, as should be expected from most human beings, before Remus saw an almost childish glint in his eyes. “You seriously stole a heart for us to dissect together?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I did! The teacher was too busy not caring to notice and I knew you’d love it. Do you love it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded rapidly and sat down beside Remus, briefly kissing his cheek. “Of course I do! The smell is going to be a little stronger than it might be in a classroom setting, so I might need to take breaks, but otherwise, this sounds like a much better date than a movie.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>They both put on their gloves and grabbed a scalpel as Remus pulled the heart out of the bag and watched with almost too much excitement as Logan started to carve into it, listening intently as he taught him all about the anatomy of the heart. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, if you were my biology teacher, I wouldn’t be barely passing that class," Remus mentioned about an hour in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan glanced at him for a second before continuing to dissect. “Why? Because you think I’m hot and you wouldn’t be able to stop staring at me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, yeah, obviously. But also because you always seem so excited to teach me this kind of stuff.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was surprisingly sweet, especially coming from Remus. “Oh... Thank you...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Then again, I might fail because I’d be too busy staring at your ass to think about anything outside of the reproductive system.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I think my respiratory system needs a break from the smell.” Logan took off his gloves before walking out and getting some fresh, clean smelling air into his system, trying not to blush as hard as he was. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he went back in, Remus seemed to be studying the heart pretty intently. Not creepily so, just enough for Logan to wonder if he was actually thinking about it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What are you doing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, your gloves are off and you obviously can’t put them back on. I just thought I should try and figure out what exactly I’m going to be doing for the rest of the time we have this thing here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh... I just assumed you were going to hack at it the rest of the time, I went through the entire thing.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really?” Remus hummed in surprise. “I guess it feels like a ton of work when the teacher isn’t passionate and happy. And super hot.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan jokingly rolled his eyes. “Are my looks always relevant to you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Look, you’re an amazing fucking person, but I have to give credit where credit is due.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can’t argue with that logic,” Logan hummed as he sat back down, leaning against Remus as he watched him hack the heart into pieces. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“This would be so much more satisfying if I could just squish it, there’s no squish in this.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It would have to be fresh for you to squish it. You’ll probably dissect an eye or something and be able to squish the slime inside.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus sighed dreamily. “God, I hope so...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Once Remus was satisfied by the amount of pieces that the heart was in, Logan helped him dispose of it and they went to wash their hands together in Logan’s bathroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think this has been my favorite date so far,” Logan hummed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned. “Does that mean I can take you to a haunted house when Halloween comes around again?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.. I guess it depends. I could always wear earplugs, but I’m not too good around flashing lights...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus kissed his cheek. “I was kidding, but I will try and find something like that for you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe a murder mystery escape room?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Now we’re talking!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan smiled at that. “Maybe we can bring the others and make a day out of it, just so we don’t end up freaking out anybody who might be there. I just feel like having strangers giving us funny looks would kill the mood.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “Aw, come on, I’m pretty sure you and I could solve a murder mystery alone faster than we could with anybody else helping.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“As long as my body doesn’t end up distracting you, that is.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, it’s really rude when you do that,” Remus said with a serious expression, his usual grin popping back up after a second. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan chuckled and finished up, drying his hands on a towel. “You’re so obnoxious... You’re lucky I love you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus paused and looked at him. “What did you say?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, god, that was his first ‘I love you’. “Nothing, it just slipped out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Nooo, now's not the time to be embarrassed, Logan. Come on, say it again!” Remus dried his hands on his shirt before poking Logan’s stomach and sides. “Say it!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan bit his tongue to stop himself from laughing at the ticklish torture. “Alright! Stop and I’ll say it!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus pulled his hands away without a thought. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay..” He took a deep breath before looking up at his boyfriend. “Remus, I love you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus cackled and jumped in place a few times before grabbing Logan’s face between his hands. “Logan, I love you too!” He leaned forward and kissed him, though as much as they were both smiling, it wasn’t much of a kiss. “I’ve been waiting to say it for a little while, I didn’t want to scare you,” Remus said breathlessly when he pulled away. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, if there’s anything you should’ve learned by now, it’s that nothing you say or do can scare me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus hummed for a second. “No, but I know how to freak you out.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged. “You know how to freak anyone out, it’s your entire personality.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Uh- Yeah, but it’s the most fun when I freak you out, mister fearless statue.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“How so?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus grinned and leaned down so his face was level with Logan’s, though he knew that alone would have no affect on him. “I don’t think you realize how great it feels to know that I’m the only person who knows how to freak you out on command.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I wouldn’t say all that-” Logan cut himself off as Remus dropped to his knees and wrapped his arms around his waist, feeling his face burn. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“See? You know I’m not going to do anything you don’t ask me to and I can’t see a blush, but I know it’s there.” Remus snickered and adjusted his grip. “Anyways, I'm picking you up.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, if you hit my head on the ceiling, I swear to god!” Logan yelped as Remus tossed him over his shoulder and began walking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know, I know, short ceilings.” Logan was a short guy and he knew he was going to stay short when he first made the room. The tallest person who went in there was Patton and the ceiling was only a couple of inches above his head. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan huffed and let himself be carried back out into his bedroom. “You are insufferable.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus dropped him onto the mattress before laying with him, kissing his cheek. “Yeah, but you love me and you can’t fake deny it anymore.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes as Remus wrapped himself around him and accepted his fate, leaning his head against his chest. “I guess I do..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know you do. And I love you too.” He kissed the top of Logan’s hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan did love Remus. And Remus loved him. Forget wondering about why it worked, all that mattered was that they did work. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0008"><h2>8. Chapter 9: Roceit Confession</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>After his brother abandoned him in the school parking lot, it seemed that Roman really had no choice but to go and find Janus before they left, thankfully making it as they’d just gotten there themself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Janus. Hi,” Roman said, sounding surprised, as if he didn’t know that Janus would be right there. Maybe it was his hoping that he didn’t have to embarrass himself like this. “Um... Remus kind of abandoned me to go hang out with Logan and I can’t find Patton,” not that he’d tried particularly hard to look for him. “Would you mind if I got a ride home with you?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged and held out his helmet. “Sure, just put this on and promise that you’ll hold tight.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um.. Are you sure you’ll be okay without a helmet? You’re the one driving, I really shouldn’t-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t worry about it,” Janus interrupted. “I’ve forgotten about it once or twice before school, I know how to lie to the cops if they notice.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alright, now Roman was really starting to regret this. He politely waved off Janus’s offer and took a step back. “Um... Maybe it’ll be best if I call my parents to come get me, I don’t want you to get into any trouble or anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus rolled their eyes, almost looking entertained by Roman’s cowardice, and got up from where they’d been sitting on their bike, going over to Roman and putting the helmet in his hands. “I promise, it’s fine. I would’ve flat out refused to take you if I thought I’d be losing anything here. Besides, I’m sure Remus would kill me if I let you stick around here alone.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>More like he’d kill Roman for letting himself stick around there alone. Roman sighed and took the helmet, putting it on as he had a couple of times before, when Janus had their second helmet and when Roman didn’t have the massive crush that he did now. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great. And, by the way, I was wondering if you had any free time tomorrow before school. I had another teacher get mad at a presentation I turned in and you really helped to make the other one... ‘school appropriate’,” they said, rolling their eyes and using air quotes around “school appropriate”. It wasn’t like they were wrong in what they said, they just liked choosing project topics that made their classmates and their teachers uncomfortable. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh... Um, I can... I can help you now,” Roman offered as he flipped up the visor to look at Janus more clearly. “I, uh... I don’t have that much homework myself, I can go with you back to your place and help you. It’d be nice to see your dad again, too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled at the offer. “Thanks. I’ll make sure to take you back afterwards, of course. It’ll be nice to get this out of the way sooner rather than later, too. Come on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them hopped onto Janus’s motorcycle and they took them back to their apartment, where Roman had really only been when they all were working on their group project. He’d never really had a reason to go hang out with Janus again, especially not alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The thought ended up making Roman more nervous than he would’ve liked to admit, hesitating as he followed Janus up to the door of the apartment and fidgeting with his backpack straps the entire time, something that definitely, unfortunately, didn’t go unnoticed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You seem really fidgety,” they pointed out as they grabbed their key. “Are you alright?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, never better,” Roman said, definitely responding too fast. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged, absolutely not believing him. “You are a terrible liar, but I guess I can’t make you speak or anything. Are you sure you’re up to help me tonight? We can always meet up before school.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um.. No, no, I’m okay,” Roman said, lying far more convincingly this time. “I just... I don’t know, nervous energy, I guess. I’m just in a fidgety mood.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus was still unconvinced, but it was pretty clear that whatever this was, Roman wasn't very comfortable talking about it, so they dropped the subject for now. “Alright.” They let the two of them in and showed Roman to the living room, figuring that it would’ve been more awkward being in their room when it was just the two of them. “My dad won’t be back for a little bit, hope you don’t mind.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Mind? No, I don't mind at all, why would I mind?” Roman said, though it was clear that he did mind, at least a little bit. Fairly enough, too, he wasn’t used to the idea of being with a person alone, not with a person that he seriously liked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay...” Janus muttered, definitely catching his nervous energy. “You know, if you’re going to be weird like this for the entire time that we’re here, I doubt we’re going to get anything done. If you have something to say, you might as well say it now.” Yeah, Roman was there to help them, but he was acting weird and acting like Janus wouldn’t notice it. The only thing they knew to do in response was jump into a defensive mode. “I didn't think you’d be this weird about the two of us being alone, unless you just have a problem with me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Oh, god, this was backfiring heavily. If Roman managed to survive the rest of the evening, he was going to kill his brother. “No, I seriously don’t have any kind of problem with you. I'm just... Awkward. I haven't been before, but we weren't friends before. I didn't care what you thought of me.” And that was pretty much true. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus was skeptical for a few more seconds before deciding to let up. Roman was kind of awkward sometimes, maybe they were being too harsh. “Alright. I guess I can’t fault you for being a little awkward.” They grabbed their laptop and showed Roman the presentation they were having trouble with, taking all of his advice on how not to piss off the white man, at least this time. It was a calm few hours until Janus’s dad came home, managing to show up in the small window where Roman was in the bathroom. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Jay,” he greeted as he walked in, quickly noticing things about his kid. “You still have your make up on, you know that, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged. “Yeah, I have a friend over, so it’s make up on for a while longer.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman popped out from around the corner, smiling awkwardly. “Hey. Sorry, totally did not mean to eavesdrop.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Dad, you remember Roman, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yes, I remember. Roman... Boy, right? Or, I guess, he/him?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged, giving him a tired smile. “Yes, Roman is a boy and uses he/him." He glanced over at Roman. "Don’t take it personally, he’s weird about everyone’s pronouns and stuff.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, Roman remembered that much. It definitely made study nights at Janus’s apartment a little more stressful, but it did help to see that his dad stumbled over Remus’s pronouns too. “It’s fine, it happens.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thanks for understanding. I’ll just leave you two alone for now. Roman, you’re welcome to stay for dinner if you want, I’m making spaghetti.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Um...” Roman checked his phone. His parents knew where he was, of course, but they didn’t seem to really care about when he got home that night. Probably because it was so rare for both brothers to be out of the house. “Yeah, I think my parents would appreciate some quiet time.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Quiet time with Remus around?” Janus asked jokingly. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Actually, Remus went to hang out at Logan’s house again. Probably with some weird date plans.” He shrugged, watching as Janus started to get up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don't we hang out in my room?” they suggested. “It’ll be quieter and we can get some more work done.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman was definitely a bit hesitant to accept the offer - hesitant meaning that his heart practically exploded in his chest out of pure nervousness - but he knew he was already on somewhat thin ice with Janus, at least more so than he’d want to be. So, he nodded and gathered his stuff. “Yeah, sounds like a plan.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded and showed Roman to their room, somewhere that Roman was decently familiar with, though it had been a while. It wasn’t a very big room, a feeling that wasn’t helped by the thick blackout curtains over the windows or the black... Almost everything. Whatever wasn’t black was gray or yellow, an interesting aesthetic, in Roman’s opinion. He sat down at Janus’s desk, the other sitting on their bed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So..” Roman started, hesitantly. “Totally did not mean to pry, but I heard your dad say something about you covering up and I don’t really know what he was talking about, but it seems kind of wrong to me that you have to hide anything about yourself in your own home.. No pressure, if you prefer hiding whatever you’re hiding, but I don’t judge.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know,” Janus began, half joking. “I’m not sure I can trust my deep, dark secret to someone who was being all weird about being here alone with me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman laughed that off. “Oh, come on.. I’m sorry for being kind of awkward. You don’t have to, if you don’t want to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged and got up, grabbing a pack of makeup wipes from on top of their dresser. “Alright. I’m surprised your brother hasn’t let it slip, to be honest.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>That was fair. Remus had already been over to hang out with Janus alone at least a couple of times. The two of them were close, but being alone with Remus was a lot to handle for anyone. Except for Logan, ironically enough. “You’d think he’d be worse at keeping secrets.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m surprised he’s not. Anyways, I have vitiligo. It started a couple of years ago, I like to think it did so as a defense mechanism.” They paused and looked at Roman, who just stared back at them, struggling to hide a smile. “That was a joke, you can laugh at that. But, yeah, with the pattern it’s going in, I seriously just don’t want to hear any more jokes comparing me to a villain. I get it, it looks like I have a skull mask and fangs,” they said as they began wiping the foundation from their skin. Just like they’d said, there were patches of white around their eyes and moving down the center of their nose, a bit more concentrated on its tip. And right below their bottom lip was a line that ended in two downward facing points, which did kind of look like fangs. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And, Jesus Christ Superstar, Roman didn’t mean to stare, but how else was he supposed to cope with becoming gayer by the second here? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, Remus’s manners weren’t much better, so it was pretty easy for Janus to not take that in an offensive way. “You and your brother both like staring, don’t you?” they joked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman quickly looked away, his face turning bright red. “Sorry. It just.... It looks really cool.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled at that. “Thank you, you’d be one of the few who thinks so.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded and smiled down at his lap. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You’re awfully blushy today,” Janus pointed out. “Not that it’s hard to tell on you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman groaned and hid his face in his hands. “Don’t point it out, its one of the many reasons I wish Remus and I hadn’t turned out so white.” Neither of their parents were particularly light skinned, it didn’t make sense. At least with Virgil, it made a little more sense, they have a fully white parent, but even they could tan better than either of the brothers. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their moment was interrupted as Janus’s dad came into the room, holding Janus’s helmet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry to interrupt, but Jay, can you explain why you only left one helmet laying around in the living room?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus groaned and caught it as their dad tossed it over. “Asking Roman over was kind of a last minute thing. Remus left him at school, so I figured I might as well ask him to help me with some school stuff, but it’s whatever.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Their dad sighed and leaned against the door frame. “Jay, you know how I feel about you riding without a helmet.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, they were really careful,” Roman assured. “There wasn’t a lot of traffic and they weren’t speeding or anything.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus and their dad paused and glanced at each other before looking back at Roman, Janus speaking up. “It’s not a traffic accident he’s worried about...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah.. I know Janus is a careful driver. But that doesn’t mean that driving without a helmet at his age isn’t illegal.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman connected the dots in his mind, his expression morphing to mild horror as he realized his mistake. “Oh! Right, of course... My bad.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah. I’d appreciate if you’d stop riding without a helmet. When I say I want you to remember the rules of interacting with police, that doesn’t mean I want you having to practice them.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus may have seemed mildly irritated at the request before, but they softened up at that, nodding. “Alright... I promise it’s not a regular thing, I’ll be more careful.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” He left the room, shutting the door behind him. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus stared at the door for a few seconds before turning back to Roman. “So... Sorry about that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, no, don’t apologize. It’s not like I have to deal with that kind of thing everyday, I can’t blame him for trying to make sure you’re safe...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled at that. “Well, thank you for acknowledging your privilege.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman nodded. “Of course. I know I could never really understand, but I imagine it’s how I feel about ICE. Or, at least, similar to it.” Roman may have had to worry about them coming to harass his parents, despite them both being citizens, but he didn’t have to worry about anybody looking at him and shouting out false threats about how he was going to be taken away and sent back to Mexico. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’d say its a pretty close match, especially with everything going on.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah... But, um... We don’t have to talk about such upsetting things, we’re just two friends, hanging out together. I don’t think it’s supposed to be all that depressing,” he said with a slightly forced smile, definitely not wanting to talk about that kind of thing when he really wanted to talk about how badly he wanted to kiss the white skin on Janus’s face until they were sure that it was very beautiful or, at the very least, go on a date with them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled and crossed their legs on their bed. “Alright. Why don’t we talk about whatever’s making you blush so much. I mean, I know that my dad is hot, I’ve been told so repeatedly, but no offense, I don’t think he’d be into another white person, after what happened last time,” they joked, gesturing towards themself. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman fake pouted at that. “Oh, come on, you know I’m not even white. You’re whiter than me. Fifty percent so.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“On paper, yes. In person, no. And I think that is very hilarious.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman playfully rolled his eyes at that. “Well, I’m not trying to date your dad, but um...” He shrugged. “You’re kind of close.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It took a few seconds, but it wasn’t hard for Janus to figure out what he meant, sitting up straight as they realized. “Oh... Me. Why?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What do you mean why?” Roman asked before he could even think. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus just shrugged. “I’m curious. I’m not exactly a ‘catch’ by today’s social standards and the only time I’ve had people ‘like’ me is when girls are interested in... Things that I offer besides a personality. Physically and genetically.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Yeah, Roman knew exactly what they meant. None of the girls dared to say it to their face or even to any to their friends, but all of them had heard more than once how the girls thought that they could make some “beautiful mixed babies” with Janus, seeing as they were, somehow, the only one between Logan, Patton, and Janus themself that everyone regularly assumed had a penis. And, as such, they were the only one at the butt of another series of jokes. Of course, everyone also assumed that Janus, like most of their group, didn’t like women, which, while incorrect, did work to Janus’s advantage in being an extra barrier against their stupid. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t get how people can be so disgusting sometimes,” Roman commented. He and Remus often heard the a similar brand of the same jokes when they’d first started high school, before Remus set the record straight about what people had to deal with from them, but it was better than the stupid “Toxic Latina” jokes that Roman had been put through before they transferred over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged. “At least it’s better than what Logan used to deal with. He faked a meltdown after hearing a bunch of “hot cheeto girl” jokes a while back, but I’m pretty sure he wishes he’d just punched the guy out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman groaned and resisted the urge to bash his head into a wall. “Oh, god, those are the worst!” he said before realizing how that sounded. “I mean... Not that I’d know firsthand like him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded, though they were visibly unconvinced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’d have to be a trans guy to know firsthand what it was like to be the butt of those jokes and, look at me, I’m... I really don’t look trans,” he said with an awkward laugh. “I mean, do I look like my name is Kai or Alex or Elliot or something? No, I’m just another cis gay guy.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know, making transphobic jokes is not the best way to hide that you’re trans,” Janus pointed out. “In fact, it might be the worst because while you are allowed to make those jokes, if you were to successfully fool anybody, you’d just look transphobic. It’d be ironic in a way that I doubt you’d find very funny.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman frowned and crossed his arms over his chest self-consciously. “So, you know?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“For how long?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I only knew for sure right now, but I know Logan had a bit of a hunch. Of course, he doesn’t have to know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman frowned. “How did he figure it out?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know. It’s not because you don’t pass, if that's what you’re worried about. I mean, he clocked you and I just thought he was seeing things. If you weren’t such a bad liar, I wouldn’t know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And Roman would be lying if he said that didn’t make him feel a little better. “Really?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, yeah.” Janus smiled a bit. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” Roman seemed a bit cheered up, siting up straighter and smiling again. “And you seriously won’t tell anyone?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus seemed to think for a second, humming before shrugging. “I won’t, but I do have one condition.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Here it was. He’d literally do Janus’s homework until graduation if it meant that he got to keep his secret. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Go on a date with me,” they said after a couple of seconds.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“... What?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I’d be lying if I said I thought about you in that kind of way before, but you are cute and a pretty good guy,” they said with a shrug. “If you actually like me, for some reason, I’d like to go on a date with you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As much as he wanted to cheer and tell the world that he was going on a date with Janus, Roman’s first reaction was, instead, to sigh with relief, sinking back into his seat. “Oh, thank god, I thought you were going to make me do something tough or something.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus chuckled and shook their head. “Why would I do that? I’m trans too, I get how much it would suck. Plus, I’m not a shitty human being, to my knowledge.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You absolutely are not. But, um... You’re nonbinary. It’s kind of different, everyone knows that you’re trans.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“True, but nobody knows which way I’m trans. Most people guess wrong.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman found that a bit hard to believe, there was a 50/50 chance of getting it right and Janus had been asked enough times for someone to have gotten it correctly at some point. “I’m curious about that, but it’s none of my business.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus smiled at that. “And we have a winner. My birth gender is nobody’s business. And neither is yours. We can plan our date later, but for now, are you staying for dinner or should I be taking you home?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um... Yeah, I can still stay. Don’t worry about taking me home, though, I’ll get Remus to swing by and pick me up on his way home.” They had a lot to gossip about now that balance was about to be restored into the world. After all, Remus wasn’t going to be the only brother going on dates. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0009"><h2>9. Chapter 10: Remus helps Logan deal with idiots in high school</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>“Did you know that there is such a thing as being too gay?” Roman told his brother as he followed him to class. “And I think you’re a little too gay for Logan.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“First of all, I’m not even gay, I’m pan, you know that. You’re gay. Second of all, there’s no such thing as being too gay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman shrugged. “I wouldn’t be so sure of that. Five minutes ago, you were freaking out because Logan wasn’t answering your good morning texts.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He always answers my good morning texts!” Remus pouted. “And I wasn’t freaking out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We’re twins, I know your freaking out face.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alright, Remus couldn’t deny that. “There’s still no such thing as being too gay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>There definitely wasn’t, but it was easier to day he was too gay than to say that, as his brother, it was understandably gross to see him being romantic with anyone. Making matters worse, both twins had a tendency to be incredibly dramatic, so Remus was twice as gross about his feelings for Logan than the average person would be. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“My feelings for Logan are perfectly normal,” Remus said as he walked into his first class with Roman, immediately turning to go sit behind Logan. He stopped in his tracks as he saw his boyfriend sitting in his usual front corner desk, with a very noticeable difference about him. Rather than his usual box braids, Logan’s hair was in a gorgeous afro, which was way too much for Remus’s gay heart. He practically collapsed back into his brother’s arms, immediately proving his point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I think this counts as you being too gay,” Roman said as he helped his brother to his feet. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you blame me?! Look at him, he’s gorgeous,” Remus swooned. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Roman rolled his eyes, though he couldn’t deny that deep down, he was kind of happy for his brother. “Just go say hi to your boyfriend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Gladly!” Remus went over to his usual desk and sat down. “Hey, Logan, I-” He cut himself off as Logan slammed his book shut and turned around, looking less than pleased. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That wasn't directed at you, you're the best thing I've seen this morning.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiled sympathetically. “Whose ass do I need to kick? You're looking too gorgeous to be that upset.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Everyone's... If I hear one more comment about how good I look with my 'real' hair or 'how cool it is of me to embrace my culture' I am going to break a neck. Mine or theirs.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww... Break theirs, you're too pretty for that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “True...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus leaned in and kissed his cheek. “So, why is your hair down?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed and played with a lock of his hair, twisting the curl around his finger. “Patton's mom forgot to tell me she was too busy to braid my hair and Patton didn't have time. He said he’ll take care of it after school, but at this point, I’m not sure I’ll make it past this class period.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Maybe you can try putting it up or something?.. I probably have a spare hair tie in my bag.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shook his head and dug through his pockets, pulling out a broken hair tie. “I tried that already. I also tried a headband and a scarf to at least hold my hair out of my face, but... It just felt bad. I had to choose between sensory issues and dysphoria and, well, it already felt weird not having my hair braided.” Logan sighed as Remus smiled sympathetically and turned the rest of the way around. “I guess it’s nice to let my hair breathe, but hearing everyone think that they’re my friend and suddenly having an opinion on my hair is getting really annoying really fast.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll bet.. I have a dumb question, what do you mean by letting your hair breathe?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s like.. It’s just the freedom of having my hair down instead of pulled up into braids. I love having my hair braided, it’s just a lot on my scalp sometimes,” Logan pouted and stuck his hand into his hair, running his fingers over his scalp. He let his hair down every Saturday before getting it braided, which he tried to make line up with extended weekends and school breaks, but that didn’t mean it wasn’t still tough sometimes. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aw... Do you mind if I..” He trailed off and held up a hand, letting his gesture ask the question. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged and turned around the rest of the way in his seat, folding his arms on Remus’s desk. “I’m too tired to care..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus ran his hand through Logan’s hair and began rubbing his scalp. “You’ve got a ton of hair, you know that, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed contently and let his eyes fall shut, leaning into Remus’s hand. “It’s a lot of work, but spite is a great motivator..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Who are you trying to spite?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He shrugged. “Anybody who says I can’t be serious or masculine or professional with long, natural hair. I used to get people telling me to straighten my hair for events and when I started transitioning, other people asking when I was going to cut it. At least my parents asked with good intentions and immediately understood that I didn’t want to cut it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, fuck them, you’re very masculine and serious.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded absentmindedly. “Can you please do this more often? I will literally invite you over purely to scratch my scalp.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’ll hop your fence anytime you want. You’re just giving me a valid reason to do so.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’d smile if we weren’t in school,” Logan muttered. “I have a reputation to keep up.” </span>
  <span>
    <br/>
  </span>
  <span>“I think you lost some of that tough reputation of yours when you turned around for head scratches.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Don’t make me turn back around.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus snickered and kept running his fingers over Logan’s poor scalp until the teacher walked into the room, Logan turning around to face the front of the room, his usual cool and calm expression making its way back to his face as if nothing had just happened. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, that’s a yes on letting me come over later?” Remus asked a few minutes into the class, Logan subtly nodding in response. “I’ll be looking forward to it. I’m kissing your cheek, in my head.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan bit back a smile and nodded again before focusing on class. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>While he had to put up with a few more idiotic comments about his hair throughout the day, it seemed that nobody was particularly willing to bother him when Remus or Janus was around, the two of them realizing that Logan was being put through a lot of bullshit and following him around for the sake of everyone’s safety, Remus because he’d obviously heard from Logan himself and Janus because they’d went through the same thing when they first had their hair put into locs. At the time, it seemed endless, until they got suspended, of course. It wasn’t like it was their fault, they’d just heard one too many “Erik Killmonger” jokes. At least Logan wouldn’t have to go through that kind of bullshit.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he was endlessly thankful for it. Janus may have been more violent, but they were also way more patient than Logan ever was. By the end of the day, he may not have heard a particularly excessive amount of comments, but that didn’t mean he wasn’t on the edge of blowing up before he managed to get to the safety of Remus’s truck, thanking Janus as the two split off for the day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus met him there a couple of minutes later, greeting his boyfriend with a quick kiss and letting him into his truck before driving him to his house. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Remus, I’m going to ask you something and you are not allowed to make a single joke about me being soft in any way. I’m really not in the mood for it and you know as well as I do that I will get out of your truck and walk the rest of the way as soon as we hit a stop sign.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus almost laughed at that. He may have picked on Logan fairly regularly, but even he wasn’t dumb enough to do so while Logan was in an obviously sour mood, not unless he thought it would make him laugh. “What is it?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan hesitated to ask for a second before just sucking it up. “Can you please massage my scalp once we get to my place? Your hands are magical and I need to unwind before I accidentally end up lashing out at Patton.” Patton wasn’t terrible at braiding his hair, he was actually surprisingly good for how few times he’d been able to do it, but Logan was about two seconds from snapping at the next person who irritated him and Patton was very likely to end up accidentally snapping that wire. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aww, of course I can. You’ve had a long day, the least I can do is offer sweet little hair scratches for my lovely boyfriend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Were he not in such a bad mood, Logan would’ve smiled at that. Instead, he leaned against the truck door and messed with the fidget cube that Virgil had lent him earlier to help deal with the frustration of being around so many idiots. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The rest of the drive was fairly quiet and the two of them went straight back to Logan’s room as they got to his house - after Remus got their snacks, of course. Once he was through his bedroom door, Logan went straight to his bed and flopped down, leaving Remus to close the door behind him once he got back with his snow cone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is this what you usually do after a rough day?” Remus asked as he went to sit beside his tired boyfriend, giving him his treat. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged and shifted so his head was in Remus’s lap. “I usually just sit and fidget with something or I’ll read an astronomy book, something to just distract me from all of the stupid.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus smiled at that and his adorable actions and began running his fingers through Logan’s hair. “Well, now you get to deal with my stupid and use that to forget all of their stupid.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan just sighed and shut his eyes. “Your stupid is easier to deal with, you’re stupid as a joke. They’re stupid because they’re just fucking idiotic.” Was shrinkage really that difficult of a concept to grasp?</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“That is very true.” Remus leaned down and kissed Logan’s forehead before just massaging his scalp, letting him enjoy the quiet until Patton got there a few minutes later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>When he did get there, it was pretty clear that he knew the kind of bullshit that Logan had been dealing with that day, entering quietly after knocking and hearing a “Come in” from Remus. He stepped inside and smiled sympathetically at Logan, who sat up the second he heard Patton’s knocking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Logan. Virgil told me you were kind of in a bad mood today, are you still up for getting your braids in?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “Please. I feel like it’s the only way that everyone will shut up about my hair.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. Sorry if I’m a little late, I had to drop Virgil off and then I swung by and grabbed rubber bands and stuff.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded and grabbed a pillow to sit on as he shifted to sit on the floor, scooting forward a few inches to give Patton some room to settle in behind him. “Don’t worry about it, we weren’t waiting long.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton smiled and stepped over to sit behind him. “Remus, are you staying?” Patton asked as he sat on the bed behind Logan, starting to get ready to work with his hair. “I’m going to be here for a while, but you’re welcome to stay, if it’s fine with Logan. I just can’t really focus if it gets too loud.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I can do not loud, when I want,” Remus said as he moved to sit on the floor beside Logan. “It’ll be like I’m not even here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And that was surprisingly true. As Patton got to work on Logan’s hair, Remus was calm and quiet, simply working on some homework with him. It was a calm few hours, with the three of them sitting in fairly silent harmony until Logan’s mom came to ask them all about dinner. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, you two- Oh, Remus, you’re here too,” she pointed out, clearly surprised by his presence. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus just shrugged. “I had nothing else to do and they didn’t kick me out.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, it’s not a complaint, I just know that Logan doesn’t really like it when other people are around when he’s getting his hair braided.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t like when people who treat me like a kid for wincing as much as I do are around when I get my hair braided,” he corrected. “Remus can stay, it’s fine with me.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mom almost laughed at that. “Alright, well, I was just coming to see if you boys wanted to take a break for dinner. I’m not sure that you’ll get done for at least a few more hours.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I could use a break, but I’ll probably finish if we go late into the night. Is that fine with you, Logan?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Anything to not have to deal with those idiots at school, plus I wouldn’t want to waste another night for you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded, too focused to remember that Logan couldn’t see and making his mom smile.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Why don’t I get you when I finish up with dinner? It’s still going to be a few minutes and, yes, Remus, of course you can stay.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool, no having to smuggle a plate back for me, then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I have never done that,” Logan quickly added. “For the record, that has never happened, I kick him out and make him go home for dinner when I have to.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>His mom wanted to say that Remus was welcome to stay for dinner whenever he wanted, but she figured he didn’t need the encouragement. “Don’t worry, Logan, you’ve brought Remus over enough for me to know when he’s just messing with you. Dinner will be ready in a few, I’ll come and get you if you don’t come out after half an hour. Sound good?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think that’ll be a good point for a break,” Patton hummed, still focused on Logan’s half finished hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay. I’ll see you three then.” She smiled before shutting the door and leaving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You know,” Remus began. “You have the blame pushing skills of a twin, that was a very fast reaction.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan rolled his eyes, half jokingly. “When you date a twin this long, you learn to react quickly to their bullshit.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus snickered before leaning forward and kissing Logan’s nose. “You’re adorable, you know that?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Falsehood. You may adore me for some unknown reason, but that does not make me ‘adorable,’” he said, though he was fighting the slightest smile. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton would’ve loved to comment on how cute they both were as a couple, but he figured the input wouldn’t be very much appreciated. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, I’ll leave the coddling you for when there’s nobody around to see that you’re not the tough guy that everyone thinks you are,” he said and he meant it, though he said it with a tone that convinced Patton into thinking he was just teasing. Remus may have gotten to see how soft and precious Logan was when he actually let himself be, but he knew that it was a privilege and it was a privilege he was not willing to lose. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>As promised, the three of them went to eat and took a decent break before getting back to it, Remus switching spots as they did. Instead of sitting across from Logan, he grabbed a blanket and laid down on the ground, resting his head in Logan’s lap and continuing his small talk with him before ultimately falling asleep a couple of hours later. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was only about another hour after that before Patton finally finished, yawning deeply as he ran his hands through Logan’s hair, making sure he didn’t miss anything. “And we’re done. You can check it out and make sure it looks good before I leave.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan got up, carefully moving Remus’s head, and stretched, sighing deeply. “No, it’s far too late for you to be driving. You can take the couch, if you want, but you really should sleep.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded and hid another yawn. “Thanks... I’ll leave to get ready early, but I appreciate that.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course.” Logan went and checked his hair, confirming that Patton did an amazing job, before the two of them went to sleep, leaving Remus on the floor for the night. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>In the morning, Patton was gone before Logan or Remus could wake up, so the latter took advantage of the opportunity to lovingly check Logan’s phone to see what time his alarm usually woke him up and kindly shut it off before waiting until that time and affectionately harassing him awake. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The second that Logan was supposed to hear his alarm, Remus stood up and rubbed his hands together, warming them up, before winding up his arm and smacking the hell out of absolute national treasure that was his boyfriend’s ass. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan, as most people would, jumped out of his skin as he felt Remus’s assault, definitely awake now. “What the fuck was that?!” he asked as he sat up and glared at his boyfriend. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus almost doubled over with laughter, unable to speak or do much more than slowly descend onto the floor in a fit of absolute delight at Logan’s response. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I ought to break up with you over that,” Logan grumbled as he dragged himself out of bed, trying his best to ignore how sore he was as he moved to get ready for the day. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“But you won’t,” Remus said between laughter, with absolute certainty. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I know I won’t. Shouldn’t you be going home and get ready for school instead of assaulting me?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged and checked the time. “I guess I can make it back and grab my stuff before coming back here. Mind if I take a shower over here? Roman always takes a lifetime and I usually take night showers because of it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan sighed and thought over the pros and cons of that suggestion before going and grabbing his keys, pulling the one to his room off of the chain and holding it out for Remus to take. “Alright. But if I see you without a single piece of clothing, I do reserve the right to ban you from here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “I know, I’m already on thin ice, but it was definitely worth it. I’ll even buy you breakfast to make up for it.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I greatly prefer eating a balanced breakfast here at home, but I will accept an offer for dinner on another night.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shut finger guns at him. “Noted. Tell me when and where and we’re set.” He hopped to his feet and grabbed his bag before going over and kissing Logan’s cheek, glad that he let him, and taking the key. “I’ll see you when I get back.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Despite how irritated Logan appeared at the moment, the rest of the morning was fairly peaceful, with Logan stealing a few bites of the breakfast that Remus got from his house, knowing that Remus was in no place to argue after how he woke him up, and the two of them getting to school on time as usual. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton met them a few minutes into the day, smiling as he saw Logan looking way less stressed than he did the day before. “Hey, you two. Glad to see the late night didn’t keep you out of school.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course not, I have a very strict waking up schedule, I’m not sure I could wake up too late, no matter how late my night ends.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “I mean, I did help and wake him up, but okay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Help is a strong word,” Logan joked. “Thanks again, Patton, I really appreciate your help.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course! I’m just glad we were able to get everything done. I knew bugging my mom to let me get in more practice would be worth it,” he joked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan just smiled. “Either way, I really appreciate it.” He turned and walked with Remus to his first class, glad that nobody even attempted to bother him about the sudden change to his hair. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Actually, they would have, were it not for Remus glaring at anybody who looked at them funny. Only one person got to bother Logan and that was Remus himself and he was going to make sure it stayed that way. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0010"><h2>10. Chapter 6: Thomas Joins The Club</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Logan makes a new friend in chemistry class and invites him into their group.</p>
          </blockquote><b>Notes for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff"><p>Thomas is still pretty deep in the closet at this point in time in the series</p></blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>It was kind of ironic. Logan was the friend who was the most strict about routine and things staying predictable, but he was the one who made the executive decision to make a pretty big change to their group and it was essentially out of nowhere. The six of them had agreed to meet at Logan’s house to study for their upcoming tests and just to hang out, as they usually did at least once every week, but there was something really different once they all showed up. There </span>
  <em>
    <span>was</span>
  </em>
  <span> only six of them before, right?... </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Logan, who is this?” Janus asked within seconds of them all shuffling into Logan’s room. Logan got home about an hour before everyone since he didn’t have a class last period and somehow, the other five managed to get to his house at about the same time as each other. That made six. Who was the guy sitting on the couch? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I knew I forgot something... Sorry. Guys, this is Thomas. He’s new and he’s in my chemistry class.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Actually, the two of them only met that day. It was third period chemistry and it happened to be a lab day when Thomas joined them. Logan was prepared to do his on his own as usual - his teacher knew Logan too well to try and get him to work with someone else - when Thomas walked in, new to the class and new to the school. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The teacher briefly welcomed him and introduced him to the class before letting him try to find a group to join. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas looked around and approached Logan, seeing that he was alone. “Hey, do you need a partner?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan could feel a few fearful stares in his direction, but he wasn’t a monster, he was just looking for basic respect and, as a person of color in a school with a huge white majority, it usually lead to fear. The way he saw it, anyone who feared him deserved it. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, people are staring over here. Should I just find someone else?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“You can stay,” Logan shrugged. “For future reference, I don’t usually like working with a partner, since people either just expect me to do the work on my own or refuse to talk to me during the project and it ends up ruining results, but if you don’t do that, I don’t mind if you stay.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It sounds like this class is full of jerks, then,” Thomas said as he took his seat. “Also, I really hope I’m not being disrespectful, but I see the flag pin on your bag, so I figure I should ask what your pronouns are, so I don’t mess them up..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“He/him, I am a guy,” Logan clarified. “Thank you for asking.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded. “Of course. I’ve never really met anyone who wasn’t straight or... Not trans, so I didn’t want to sound disrespectful.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right. Well, the word for ‘not trans’ is cisgender, cis for short. And, for future reference, you don’t need to explain yourself if you want to ask someone’s pronouns, just ask. For example, it’s nice to meet you, Thomas. My pronouns are he/him. What are yours?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded. “My pronouns are also he/him.. It's nice to meet you too.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan smiled and turned back to their set up. “So, how are you at chemistry?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>He was pretty good at it, as it would turn out. Thomas was the first decent lab partner Logan had essentially ever. More than that, he didn’t just understand the random chemistry facts that Logan was spouting out every few minutes, he was adding on his own. He was nice, he was smart, and Logan attached to him very quickly, which was a lot easier to do now that his five friends kind of warmed him up to the idea of actually liking people. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, have you had any luck getting to know anybody? I know it’s only third period, but... I don’t know, I figured I might ask,” Logan shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No and I don’t think I will...” Thomas looked around a bit. “I don’t know. It’s like I said earlier, some of the people here seem kind of like jerks...” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “Alright. I think one of my friends would describe this as me adopting you. Do you want to join my friend group?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas smiled at the offer. “If they’re as cool as you seem, yeah. I think it’d be nice.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Great. Do you happen to have any free periods?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, actually, I don’t have any classes last period.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Perfect. Are you free to meet up with us today?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas thought for a second before nodding. “Yeah, I should be... I walk home, so I just have to let my parents know that I’m going to be home late, I’m sure they’ll understand.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Meet me in front of the school after your last class, we can walk to my house and wait for my friends to show up. Before that, full disclosure, I am gay, but I’m not attracted to you and I already have a boyfriend. Do you mind?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, of course not! I mean, I mean, you’re human too, I’m not expecting you to do anything crazy just because you like guys.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “I’ll see you after school, then.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And he did. Logan was standing outside of the building, leaning against a pillar when he felt a tap on his shoulder. Instinctively, he jumped away from the touch and tensed up, relaxing when he saw that it was just a very apologetic looking Thomas. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Sorry, I didn’t mean to scare you.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan shrugged it off, not wanting to seem too irritated. “I don’t like being touched. Nothing personal, that goes for almost everybody.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas nodded. “Understood.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Thank you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The two of them began walking to Logan’s house, a trip that went by fairly quietly. Thomas kept trying to make small talk, but Logan was so bad at it that each conversation lasted about thirty seconds before dissolving back into silence. Thomas didn’t mind enough to ask about it, he figured Logan just wasn’t a very talkative guy, the same way he was in class that morning. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>And then he started talking about chemistry. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It actually started after they got to Logan’s house, they were out in his room and started working on their homework. Logan was pleasantly surprised when Thomas didn’t ask for his help and, instead, made a remark about how easy he found the work. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I mean, I get that the concepts can be tough, but it’s so interesting to learn, right?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, thank goodness, another person with a brain in the group,” Logan sighed. Thomas may have been a very good lab partner, but it was hard to tell how smart he might be from that alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas took that as a joke and laughed lightly. “I guess so. I can be a bit of an airhead, but my book smarts are all there. So, is chemistry your favorite subject?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, I definitely wouldn’t say it’s my favorite. Honestly, I’m not sure I’d be able to name a favorite, but it is a subject that I think too many people hate. I mean-” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan spent about the next half hour ranting about why he thought chemistry was a greatly underrated subject and Thomas nodded along, adding points here and there, which only made Logan want to speak more. In fact, he only stopped himself when he remembered why they were there in the first place. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We should get back to doing homework,” he said, suddenly ending his rant. “Unless you wanted to just wait until everyone else got here? Nobody else is in chemistry, but Roman and Remus are both in drama, so they can help you with... Whatever you guys do in drama.” As long as he’d been dating Remus, he’d never understood what exactly that encompassed. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, um... Yeah, we can do that. Sorry, I guess you just kind of caught me off guard there. You’ve been so quiet, not that that’s a bad thing or whatever.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“\I get that a lot. I just go off on rants sometimes, I’ve been told that they’re hard to reign in.” It wasn’t particularly often that it had to happen, but there were times when Logan didn’t realize that maybe it wasn’t best to start ranting. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas shrugged. “It’s totally fine by me, I thought you were saying some really smart stuff.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan smiled a bit and got back to his work until his friends burst in. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Okay, we finally have a token white friend,” Remus pointed out as he strolled in and took his usual seat on Logan’s bed, waving his boyfriend over. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m going to stay here and, also, I feel like that’s something you probably shouldn’t say.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, I don’t mind,” Thomas assured. “You’re Remus, right? Logan said that Remus or Janus would make that joke, but he also said that Remus was his boyfriend.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded. “The one and only!”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Right, so that means...” He looked around a bit, his eyes landing on Roman and the increasing amount of traits that he shared with his brother. “You’re Roman.” He looked at Janus, the only other person who would comment about his being there as openly as they did. “You’re Janus.” He looked at Patton, who Logan had described as being somewhat feminine, and noticed the skirt he was wearing. “You’re Patton. And you’re Virgil,” he finished off, looking at them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan nodded. “See? He’s smart and respectful. We need another one of these, I can’t be the only brain cell here.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody argued with that, it was a pretty fair point. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Also, he’s in drama, so Remus, Roman, I figured you might like to talk to him.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Alright, he can stay!” Roman said enthusiastically, sitting at Thomas’s other side. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil was more upset about the fact that they didn’t get their usual seat on the couch than the fact that there was a new person in their group. After all, Logan was the one who brought him in. Logan, who didn’t even want to be their friends until he just kind of accepted over time that they weren’t leaving. Therefore, Thomas had to be cool. They just took a seat on one of the surprisingly comfortable milk crate chairs that Logan put together, Patton sitting on one beside them. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“So, Thomas, what brings you around here at this time of the school year?” Patton asked. It was pretty late into their senior year, it was a pretty weird time for anybody to be moving. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“We just had to move for my dad’s job,” he shrugged. “It’s kind of weird, but honestly, I’m just glad all of my credits transferred over just fine, I would’ve been so upset if I didn’t still get my last period off everyday.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus nodded. “So, you’re going to be here alone with my boyfriend for an hour everyday?” he asked, clearly joking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas didn’t quite catch onto that. “Oh! N-No, trust me, it’s not like that. I’m not really into guys..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus sighed. “Look... It’s not that I hate all straight white guys, Thomas, I’m sure you’re one of the good ones, but what the fuck, Logan?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Aren’t I supposed to be the insensitive one?” Logan asked. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“If you want to talk stereotypes, sure,” Janus shrugged. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“It’s fine, I know it’s a joke,” Thomas assured. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Janus nodded. “See? He gets it. I approve of him, for now.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas smiled at that. “Thanks. I’ll go ahead and admit that I might be kind of awkward about this, but just let me know if I say anything weird and I’ll make sure not to do it again.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I like him,” Patton announced. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Logan looked over at Virgil. “You’re the only one who hasn’t put in any input, what do you think of him?”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil shrugged. “As long as he’s chill, whatever, I guess. Welcome to the club.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas smiled proudly at that. “It’s nice to be in the club.”</span>
</p>
  </div></div>
<a name="section0011"><h2>11. Chapter 8: Are Patton and Virgil dating?..</h2></a>
<div class="story"><div class="fff_chapter_notes fff_head_notes"><b>Summary for the Chapter:</b><blockquote class="userstuff">
            <p>Virgil's heard some stupid rumors around campus. Patton doesn't believe them... Right?</p>
          </blockquote></div><div class="userstuff module">
    
    <p>
  <span>What was it about teenagers that made them never mind their own business? There were always rumors floating around about someone and while Virgil hated them, they were able to ignore them until they heard one about themself. Virgil was just trying to get through their stupid required Spanish class when they noticed a small group of girls looking over at them and giggling, immediately stopping when they looked up. Virgil rolled their eyes and tried to ignore it, but it just started up again. Eventually, it got too annoying and they got up and went over the second the teacher left their class alone. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Is there a reason why you guys keep looking over at me and laughing?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>The girls giggled and looked at one another before nudging one of them into talking. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m so sorry, but we heard that you’re going out with Patton? We just thought you two make a really cute couple, we were just going to ask if it was true.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“What? No, it’s not true. Patton and I are just friends.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Immediately, all of their faces dropped to disappointment. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Really? Everyone’s saying that you’re dating. I heard someone asked Patton and he just kind of smiled and walked off.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Well, we’re not dating. And just ask next time instead of staring at me.” They went back and sat down, thinking about what that meant as far as Patton’s feelings went. Patton didn’t think they were dating, did he? It wasn’t like the two of them ever kissed or went on dates, they only hung out. Patton did all of his platonic hugging and hand holding with Roman until he started dating Janus and Virgil filled that gap for him once in a while. But it was still strictly platonic. Patton knew that... Right? </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Great, now they were going to be worrying about it for the rest of the day.</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thankfully, there was only one class left after Spanish, but it still gave Virgil plenty of time to think of all the ways that confronting Patton could end badly and the many more reasons it could be worse if they didn’t. There were a lot of potential scenarios running through their mind, but generally speaking, if they talked to Patton, Patton could easily assume that Virgil had been leading him on and get them kicked out of the friend group or he could leave the group himself and go back to the toxic people he was hanging out with before Virgil got him away from them. If they didn’t talk and Patton thought they were dating, things could start escalating between them and get ugly when Virgil tried to break it off. So, ultimately, it was better to say something now. Virgil went over to Patton’s car as they usually did, nodding as he showed up. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Hey, Patton, before we head to Logan’s, can we talk?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton seemed to get a little nervous as Virgil said that, but nodded. “Yeah, if you want...” He got into the car and turned to face Virgil as they got in. “Before you talk, do you mind if I say something?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Great, this was the worst timeline. “Yeah, go ahead.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Cool... So, you know you’re my best friend, right? Like, I love the rest of the group, but you and I were friends before that and I hope we’ll be friends for a really long time. You know that, right?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Of course I know that.” Which was why they were so afraid of how this could end. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Good... The thing is, I don’t really...” He paused and sighed. “I’m sorry, I don’t really know how to say this. I don’t really want anything more than friendship with you. You’re seriously great and anybody would be lucky to date you, but I’m not... I love you, just not romantically.”</span>
</p><p>
  <span>Alright, they weren’t expecting that. “Wait... So... You’re not asking me out?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton shook his head, clearly feeling a bit guilty about it. “No, sorry... I just heard some rumors floating around and I know it’s what you might’ve been expecting, I just thought I should say that first.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh my god, Patton, I don’t like you either! I mean, romantically.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Now it was Patton’s turn to be confused. “Wait, you don’t?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“No. I mean, your whole femboy thing is great and on another guy, I might think it’s hot, but I really only see you as a friend.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton sighed with relief. “Oh, thank god. I thought this was going to go so badly!” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Virgil nodded and sat back in their seat. “Imagine how I felt,” they said with a small laugh. “Do you think the others know that those rumors are just rumors?..” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I don’t know.. We should probably let them know.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, we should...” Otherwise, they might be sending the wrong signals to the person they were really into. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton drove the two of them to Logan’s house and was glad to find that they were the last two to get there. “Hey, guys,” he greeted, Virgil just waving at them before sitting down. “Have you guys heard those stupid rumors about me and Virgil going out?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, I think everyone’s heard them,” Janus said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Can you please tell Remus that they’re just rumors,” Logan said. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“They are,” Virgil assured. “There’s no feelings between us, honestly.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Damn it,” Remus muttered as he pulled out his wallet, passing a five dollar bill to a victorious looking Janus. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“I’m sorry, this is probably something we shouldn’t bet on, he was just too confident for me to pass it up and Janus just saw a fun opportunity,” Logan explained with a shrug. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Nobody pointed out that Logan wasn’t passing money around. Instead, they all spent the afternoon hanging out as they usually did. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Thomas looked over at Virgil and nudged them, smiling. “Hey, at least I’m not the seventh wheel of the group.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Yeah, that sounds like it would really suck,” Virgil said, half joking. Their group was too social with each other for someone being a seventh wheel to actually matter, but being the one single person in a group of seven might have been kind of weird. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton went over and talked to Remus after a while. “Hey.. what made you think me and Virgil were dating? Have we really been acting that different?” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus glanced behind him to make sure Logan wasn’t listening before turning back to Patton. “No, I just didn’t mind losing the bet. I know Logan loves being right, I figured I should give him an easy win. Janus just happened to overheard it and decided to get a little cash out of it.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>“Oh, okay.” Patton smiled. “You two are a really sweet couple. I know I shouldn’t judge, but I honestly don’t expect that from the two of you.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Remus shrugged. “Most people don’t expect us to be a happy couple, yet here we are. It’s one of the mysteries of humanity.” </span>
</p><p>
  <span>Patton nodded and decided not to get any further into that mystery. Instead, he sat and talked to Roman, who was apparently unaware of the entire betting situation that his partner was a part of. </span>
</p><p>
  <span>It was an otherwise quiet evening, something that Virgil loved about their group. No more drama, no stupid rumors, just seven friends being friends. </span>
</p>
  </div></div>
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